Nigeria will get aerial fight enhance
Nigeria is about to accumulate 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 consists of about 24 jets and 10 helicopters, and the airframes might be delivered all through 2026. The M-346FA’s strike and surveillance capabilities could 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 broaden its air drive’s operational attain amid inside safety crises.
West Africa’s first anti-ship missile
The Senegalese Navy carried out 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 US (US) carried out 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 info minister. A complete of 16 GPS-guided precision munitions had been deployed utilizing MQ-9 Reaper drones, the minister mentioned.
The strikes, launched from maritime platforms stationed in 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 in the Sahel spills over
Insurgency violence by teams linked with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State motion in the Sahel area, particularly in nations comparable to Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, is affecting nations alongside Africa’s western coast, the worldwide battle monitor Armed Battle Location and Occasion Knowledge (ACLED) famous in its Battle Watchlist 2026.
ACLED noticed the “consolidation of a brand new entrance line in the Benin, Niger, and Nigeria borderlands”. It added that Sahelian and Nigerian militancy theatres are regularly 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 top of 2025 for its air drive’s fight search and rescue operations, in response to the corporate’s media assertion. The H225M might 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 pace of 324 km per hour.
Suicide drones intercepted in Sudan
The Sudanese navy intercepted quite a few suicide drones of the rival paramilitary Speedy Help Forces (RSF) in January, the Military acknowledged.
The aerial strikes focused an infantry division’s headquarters, navy services, and Sudan’s largest dam,
the Merowe Dam.
The military mentioned that each one the drones had been destroyed beforehand, and that the RSF was executing drone strikes on the nation’s power infrastructure.
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