Nigeria will get aerial fight increase
Nigeria is ready to amass M-346FA fight plane and AW-109 assault helicopters from Italian defence agency Leonardo in a $1.4 billion deal this yr, the Enterprise Insider Africa reported.
The contract contains about 24 jets and 10 helicopters, and the airframes will likely be delivered all through 2026. The M-346FA’s strike and surveillance capabilities can be complemented by the AW-109’s enhancement of troop mobility, reconnaissance, medical evacuation, and rapid-response operations.
This acquisition is a part of Nigeria’s effort to develop its air power’s operational attain amid inside safety crises.
West Africa’s first anti-ship missile
The Senegalese Navy performed its maiden trials of an anti-ship missile, Marte MK2/N, from a 58 S-class offshore patrol vessel in late 2025. The missile, produced by the European defence agency MBDA, was fired at a decommissioned CTM touchdown craft.
Developed by the French agency Piriou, the 62-metre vessel deployed the missile, boasting a strike vary of about 30 kilometres (km).
This testing bolsters Senegal’s strategic maritime defence. It additionally aligns with Naval Technique 2050, the nation’s plan to forge a contemporary naval functionality.
US strikes ISIS in Africa
The USA (US) performed strikes on the Islamic State group (ISIS) militants in Nigeria’s Sokoto State in December final yr, as introduced by US President Donald Trump and Nigeria’s data minister. A complete of 16 GPS-guided precision munitions had been deployed utilizing MQ-9 Reaper drones, the minister stated.
The strikes, launched from maritime platforms stationed within the Gulf of Guinea, concerned Nigeria’s armed forces. The nation is dealing with a number of armed conflicts, together with a jihadist insurgency since 2009.
Militancy within the Sahel spills over
Insurgency violence by teams linked with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State motion within the Sahel area, particularly in nations akin to Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, is affecting nations alongside Africa’s western coast, the worldwide battle monitor Armed Battle Location and Occasion Information (ACLED) famous in its Battle Watchlist 2026.
ACLED noticed the “consolidation of a brand new entrance line within the Benin, Niger, and Nigeria borderlands”. It added that Sahelian and Nigerian militancy theatres are progressively integrating, extending from Mali to western Nigeria. Lack of worldwide assist and management in regional efforts have fuelled the state of affairs.
Morocco orders H225M helicopters
Morocco ordered 10 H225M helicopters from Airbus in direction of the tip of 2025 for its air power’s fight search and rescue operations, in line with the corporate’s media assertion. The H225M will likely be armed with a double hoist set up, searchlight, a Safran Euroflir 410 electro-optical system, machine weapons, and an digital warfare system. It’s appropriate for particular operations, tactical transport, and medical evacuation, and has a most velocity of 324 km per hour.
Suicide drones intercepted in Sudan
The Sudanese army intercepted quite a few suicide drones of the rival paramilitary Speedy Assist Forces (RSF) in January, the Military said.
The aerial strikes focused an infantry division’s headquarters, army amenities, and Sudan’s largest dam,
the Merowe Dam.
The military stated that every one the drones had been destroyed beforehand, and that the RSF was executing drone strikes on the nation’s power infrastructure.
Source link
#Information #North #West #Africa
