The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to modernising the Armed Forces through strategic international partnerships, local capacity development and technology transfer aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s defence architecture.
The Minister of Defence, Christopher Gwabin Musa, stated this during a working visit to Monaco alongside Senior Ministry officials.
According to a statement issued on Wednesday by Enderline Chukwu deputy director, Information and Public Relations, Ministry of Defence, the visit focused on the implementation of the proposed Multi-domain Hybrid Intelligence Shield project being developed in collaboration with MARSS UK Ltd and its Nigerian partner, MPS Mikopowers Ltd.
The statement said the engagements centred on practical demonstrations, technical discussions and strategic consultations designed to enhance Nigeria’s command, control, surveillance and integrated security capabilities.
Musa stressed the need to build indigenous operational capacity while leveraging international expertise to confront emerging security threats, including terrorism, border insecurity, illegal mining, piracy and the growing threat of unmanned aerial systems.
“The Ministry is the strategic brain of the nation’s defence architecture. 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 stated.
During the visit, the Nigerian delegation witnessed live demonstrations of radar detection systems, artificial intelligence-enabled threat identification platforms, drone interception technologies and integrated national command and control systems.
The discussions also covered plans for the establishment of national and regional command centres, mobile response units and a Centre of Excellence for simulation, training and doctrine development.
According to the ministry, the visit also provided an opportunity for talks on defence industry collaboration, local production support, technology integration and long-term partnerships between Nigerian defence institutions and international stakeholders.
The ministry said the engagements were expected to strengthen Nigeria’s ongoing efforts to improve national security, enhance inter-agency coordination and advance defence modernisation objectives.
It added that the visit formed 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 challenges.
The Nigerian delegation was received by officials of MARSS UK Ltd and MPS Mikopowers Ltd, who conducted detailed presentations and live demonstrations of the NiDAR integrated command and control system, anti-drone technologies, mobile surveillance platforms and border security solutions.
