Senator Iroegbu in Abuja
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has concluded plans to advance its drones fitted with missile guided weapon’s systems.
The Chief of Army (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja, during a meeting with the management of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA).
According to Abubakar, NAF would take advantage of “existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with NASRDA to fasts track collaborative measures to improve the air force rocketry and missile propulsion systems.” He noted that research and development are key for the advancement of organisations and rise of nations into super powers.
To this end, the CAS stressed that “advancement in military technology has monumental influence in the battle field in which the air force plays a significant role.”
He further disclosed that NAF under his leadership would push for initiatives that will enhance the capacity of air force helicopters and UAVs to target as well as deliver missiles and rockets from a very long range.
Also speaking, the Director of Engineering and Space Systems in NASRDA, Dr. Femi Agboola, promised that the agency had the capacity to improve the missile propulsion needs of the air force.
Agbola said that “NASRDA has the capability to deliver on what the chief has requested; the chief has studied us for some time like he said since 2013, he has a feel of our capability.”
He said: “The chief talked about armaments, he talked about rockets and about missile programmes, we have a rocket that goes beyond the level that he has requested, he said about five kilometres, we have already gone beyond that. “We are already working on how to guide it, not just point and shoot straight line, but to be able to make sure it goes intelligently to another location and that is what we are being asked for and we are already working on that.”
