ADF

As South Sudanese peacekeepers walked off a Kenya Air Force C-27J Spartan military transport aircraft in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), they were fulfilling a pledge.  South Sudan’s president had promised to send 750 troops to take part in the East African Community Regional Force. Their arrival in Goma on April 2 and 3, 2023, meant the mission, designed to bring peace to the volatile eastern DRC, had reached full deployment.  For South Sudan, a country that has hosted foreign peacekeepers since its independence, the ability to send troops abroad was a milestone.  “We are very proud today…

ADF STAFF Nigeria deploys drones at border crossings to increase security along its porous frontier and to identify potential threats while they’re still several kilometers away. The Orion drones, manufactured by the French-American company Elistair, operate at the end of a 100-meter Kevlar cord. The tether provides power for up to 50 hours of flight time and secure, unjammable communication with operators. The drones are part of Nigeria’s fleet of unmanned vehicles that makes it one of the continent’s major players in drone technology. The terrorists that Nigerian authorities are looking for likely are watching them with drones of their…

ADF staff The South African Air Force is one of the largest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its fighter jet fleet is among the most advanced overall on the continent, consisting of Saab JAS 39 Gripens. The air fleet includes 15 attack helicopters. But as of mid-2023, half of the Gripens were grounded. And the most important helicopters in the fleet, the Oryx transport and Rooivalk attack helicopters, were largely grounded as well. Of the 11 airframes in the Rooivalk fleet, only four were serviceable, with seven either unserviceable or undergoing maintenance, defenceWeb reported. Of the 23 engines in the fleet, only…

DEFENCEWEB Benin has added five helicopters — three H215 Super Pumas and two H125Ms — to its air fleet. The helicopters will be used for counterterrorism in Benin’s northwest, where 3,000 Soldiers are deployed to fight extremists as part of Operation Mirador, which began in 2022. Government troops, aircraft and armored vehicles have been deployed on the borders with Burkina Faso and Niger. The Airbus H215 Super Puma originally was developed and built by the French aerospace company Aérospatiale. It is now built by Eurocopter and Airbus Helicopters. It is a medium-sized utility helicopter and is a larger version of…

ADF STAFF | photos by CHRISTOPHER GARDNER, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS  To help Benin combat piracy and other maritime crimes in the Gulf of Guinea, the U.S. government delivered a new patrol vessel to the country in December 2022. The U.S. also helped build a new boathouse, maintenance shop and launch ramp to accommodate the vessel. Training was provided to the Beninese Special River and Maritime Police Unit (USPFM) through U.S. Africa Command. “The Gulf of Guinea has some of the highest incidents of maritime piracy in the world, and prior to receiving the vessel and other aspects of…

ADF STAFF The U.S. Army has awarded Boeing a contract to produce 12 new CH-47F Chinook helicopters for the Egyptian Air Force.  With the $426 million purchase, Egypt will replace its fleet of CH-47D aircraft with the modern F model, which has advanced multimission technology. “The F-model aircraft will enhance Egypt’s Chinook capabilities and help effectively accomplish its heavy-lift objectives,” said Ken Eland, Boeing vice president and H-47 program manager. “Boeing’s partnership with the Egyptian Air Force remains strong as we continue to work together to modernize their fleet.” The first Chinook was introduced in 1962. The Boeing CH-47 Chinook…

ADF STAFF Nigeria’s National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) is pushing to produce military weapons, vehicles and equipment that are “Made in Nigeria” to support the fight against extremist groups, bandits and other security threats.  Olusegun Ayeoyenikan, deputy director in charge of information at NASENI, said the Nigerian Army Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers took on one of the first projects to produce a 12.7 mm anti-aircraft gun. Other projects will include armored personnel carriers, unmanned aerial vehicles and light weapons for military use.  “The Agency had begun collaboration with some indigenous industries and research institutions as…

ADF STAFF An Egyptian company has unveiled a domestically made command, control, communication, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C5ISR) system. The system works with defense systems from around the world, an important attribute for countries such as Egypt that buy equipment from a variety of global manufacturers. ACME SAICO presented the system at the International Defense Expo in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. According to the website Breaking Defense, Egypt has struggled to coordinate the operations of its defense systems since the 1970s because of their different origins. This includes aircraft, air defense systems, naval systems and others.  The new…

ADF STAFF As internet use grows in West Africa, leaders are calling for better regional cooperation on cybersecurity. A joint approach can protect citizens, businesses, government institutions and critical infrastructure from online attacks, according to cybersecurity expert Folake Olagunju. “It has to be a whole society approach,” Olagunju said during a podcast interview with the EU International Partners Academy. Olagunju is the program officer for internet and cybersecurity at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Since 2019, internet use across West Africa has grown by about 25%. That growth has been unevenly distributed across the region, with a…

ADF STAFF Authorities seized 3,000 rifles, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and antitank missiles from a fishing vessel in the Gulf of Oman on January 15, 2023. The Iranian weapons were destined for the Houthi militia in Yemen. Eleven days earlier, officials intercepted 2,000 assorted Iranian weapons bound for Yemen on a fishing vessel in the same area, according to the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC) in Madagascar. Without vessel information the center shared with local authorities, some of the weapons might have wound up in Somalia and sold to violent extremist groups such as al-Shabaab and the Islamic…