technology

LT. CMDR. DJAIBLOND DOMINIQUE-YOHANN KOUAKOU, CÔTE D’IVOIRE NATIONAL NAVY Coastal countries in Africa face a variety of maritime threats. These include trafficking; illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing; illegal…

ADF STAFF Growing up in internally displaced persons camps in northern Uganda in the 1980s, Hakim Owiny was surrounded by armed conflict. There was suffering all around, but the sting of disinformation seared into his memory. Rumors…

ADF STAFF The kidnapping of crew members from a tanker ship traveling between Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon on January 1, 2024, is a stark reminder that piracy remains a concern in the Gulf of Guinea. In response, the Nigerian Navy has added…

ADF STAFF For most of post-independence history, air forces in Africa were not a priority. Expensive and difficult to maintain, air power was seen as a luxury not useful to the realities and unique threats on the continent. With tight…

ADF STAFF Modern fighter jets are marvels of power and complexity. Armed with air-to-air missiles, they can reach speeds of 1,600 kilometers per hour. They are also stunningly expensive. The current generation of fighter jets start at…

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…

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…

ADF STAFF Portable surface-to-air missiles from Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group and weaponized drones are helping Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) level the field in its conflict against the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). At the outset of…

ADF STAFF When recent reports emerged of widespread, yearslong cyberattacks by Chinese hackers on Kenya’s government, China was quick to offer a boilerplate denial. But, experts say, in the digital environment, it is harder than ever for…

ADF STAFF Thandi Modise recognized the irony of a Gripen jet roaring overhead as she delivered a speech to open the African Aerospace and Defence Expo in Tshwane, South Africa, last September. Grounded for a year because of budgetary…