ADF

Technology is transforming the battlefield. Men and women in uniform today know they have to stay up to date with the latest advances because if they don’t, their adversaries will.  Innovations such as drones and artificial intelligence (AI) serve as force multipliers that give security professionals greater reach and capacity to defend their homeland. But these tools are only as good as the people who operate them. Each can be turned against the public and cause great harm.  About 31 militaries in Africa now operate drones. These affordable tools are deployed for surveillance, to secure borders and to stop illicit…

Dr. Mokgweetsi E. K. Masisi, president of Botswana, spoke at the opening ceremony of the African Chiefs of Defense Conference in Gaborone, Botswana, on June 25, 2024. His remarks have been edited for length and clarity. As you gather here today under the theme, “On the Rampart Together: Expanding Cooperation and Sharing Values,” you are called upon to reflect on the critical importance of unity and collaboration in addressing the challenges facing our continent. Now, more than ever before, it is imperative that we come together as one cohesive force to achieve the African Union’s noble vision of “Silencing the…

Botswana Defence Force Commander Lt. Gen. Placid Segokgo was eager to host the 2024 African Chiefs of Defense Conference in his home country in June 2024, making it the first African nation to do so. “Your presence here today demonstrates your commitment to ensuring not only continental peace and security but also world peace and security, which are fundamental to sustainable social economic development,” Segokgo said in an opening ceremony address to 34 defense chiefs. “[This] conference offers military leaders an opportunity to learn from fellow commanders’ personal experiences from various military engagements that target Africa’s wide-ranging challenges and opportunities.”…

ADF STAFF Senegal in June 2024 joined the ranks of oil-producing nations in Africa, with output expected to be up to 100,000 barrels per day and revenues expected to approach $1 billion a year for three decades. President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who was elected in April 2024, said profits from oil and natural gas sales will be “well managed,” and he told students in June that an “inter-generation fund” had been set up to benefit them and generations to come, according to Agence France-Presse. Australia’s Woodside Energy holds 82% of the Sangomar oil and gas field being developed off the…

Djibouti became the first nation in East Africa, and the second on the continent, to release genetically engineered mosquitoes in the continuing fight against malaria. It was the pilot release of “Friendly” Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes arranged through a public-private partnership between the government and Oxitec, a United States-owned developer of biological solutions to control pests that cause disease. Oxitec is headquartered in the United Kingdom.  The effort is aimed at curbing the invasive mosquito, which is responsible for a dramatic increase in malaria in Djibouti’s capital city, from near-eradication in 2012 to more than 73,000 cases in 2020. Tens of…

ADF STAFF On a runway at an undisclosed location in South Africa, the Milkor company marked a milestone. On September 19, 2023, the Milkor 380, a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle, took to the skies for the first time.  The flight of the UAV, with a wingspan of 18.6 meters, put South Africa in an elite group of about 10 countries worldwide capable of producing a drone of that size and sophistication.  “This is officially the largest UAV that has ever been produced, developed, flown and tested on the African continent,” said Milkor Communications Director Daniel du Plessis.  With a…

Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar has served in the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) for more than 30 years. A pilot with more than 4,500 flying hours, he has served as the officer commanding ‘B’ Squadron and commanding officer Base Services Wing at 81 Air Maritime Group. He spent much of his career at the 88 Military Airlift Group in Ikeja. He also served as the fleet operation officer and later as the commander of the 011 Presidential Air Fleet in Abuja. Internationally, he was a team leader for the United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In June…

ADF STAFF In 2016, Rwanda became the first nation in the world to use drones to deliver medicine and blood samples. Now, the country uses artificial intelligence (AI) to efficiently schedule the drones’ pickups and deliveries. In many ways, Africa is breaking new ground in AI use. In South Africa, drones monitor weeds, while in Mauritius, computers crunch health data for better patient outcomes. In Nairobi, surveillance systems work to control chaotic city traffic. Ghanaian cashew farmers use drones to detect tree diseases. In South Africa, a company is digitizing African languages so AI-powered software such as Google Translate can…

The Nigerian Navy pursued the oil tanker MT Heroic Idun into the Gulf of Guinea. Navy officials suspected the ship of stealing oil from a Port Harcourt terminal. The tanker’s crew, mistaking the approaching naval patrol boat for pirates on that day in August 2022, reported themselves under attack and fled. Using the tools of the Yaoundé Architecture Regional Information System (YARIS), Nigerian authorities contacted their counterparts in Equatorial Guinea, who impounded the ship when it entered their waters and held the crew as suspected thieves. Although the crew eventually was acquitted of wrongdoing, the incident illustrates how African nations…

Across the continent, military forces stalk insurgents and violent extremists, peering through range finders and binoculars, rifle scopes and night vision goggles. In some battle spaces, drones search from the sky for targets. The tactics work to an extent, but Soldiers face constant threats when they don’t have a clear view of the battlefield. Drones can be heard, then seen, then shot down or avoided. One type of technology, however, takes operators way above the fray, collecting views of everything from severe weather to infrastructure needs and troop movements. Countries across Africa are leaning into satellite and space technology to…