By Nkechi Eze
The Honourable Minister of Defence, General Christopher Gwabin Musa (Rtd), OFR, has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to modernising the Armed Forces of Nigeria through strategic international partnerships, local capacity development, technology transfer, and sustainable defence industrial cooperation.
According to an official signed statement by the Deputy Director, Information and Public Relations, Ministry of Defence, Enderline Chukwu, the Minister made the declaration during a working visit to Monaco alongside senior ministry officials as part of ongoing engagements on the proposed Multi-domain Hybrid Intelligence Shield (HIS) project for the Ministry of Defence.
The statement noted that the Minister and his delegation held strategic engagements with MARSS UK Ltd and its Nigerian partner, MPS Mikopowers Ltd, focusing on practical demonstrations, technical discussions, and collaborative initiatives aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s national defence architecture through advanced command, control, surveillance, and integrated security technologies.
General Musa stressed the importance of developing indigenous operational capabilities while leveraging international expertise to tackle emerging security challenges, including terrorism, border insecurity, illegal mining, piracy, and threats posed by unmanned aerial systems.
He stated that the Ministry of Defence remains the strategic hub of Nigeria’s defence architecture and must continue to embrace modern technology to improve intelligence gathering, surveillance, and operational response capabilities.
“We must therefore leverage technology for intelligence, surveillance and recurring service. We have partners and allies ready to support us. We will reach out to them to work as a team,” the Minister said.
During the engagements, the Nigerian delegation witnessed live operational demonstrations of radar detection systems, artificial intelligence-enabled threat identification technologies, drone interception capabilities, and integrated national command and control solutions.
The sessions also featured discussions on the proposed establishment of national and regional command centres, mobile response units, as well as a Centre of Excellence dedicated to simulation, training, and doctrine development.
The statement further disclosed that the visit provided a platform for broader discussions on defence industry collaboration, local production support, technology integration, and long-term strategic partnerships between Nigerian defence institutions and international stakeholders.
It added that the engagements are expected to strengthen Nigeria’s ongoing efforts towards enhancing national security, improving inter-agency coordination, and advancing the country’s defence modernisation objectives.
The working visit, according to the statement, forms part of Nigeria’s broader defence diplomacy and strategic engagement initiatives aimed at promoting regional stability, operational effectiveness, and national resilience amid evolving global security threats.
Officials of MARSS UK Ltd and MPS Mikopowers Ltd received the Nigerian delegation and conducted detailed presentations and live demonstrations of the NiDAR integrated command and control system, anti-drone technologies, mobile surveillance platforms, and border security solutions designed to bolster Nigeria’s defence and security capabilities.
