HE Nigerian Airforce (NAF) has said it
would soon finish the manufacturing of an
Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) capable of
detonating high calibre improvised
explosive devices (IEDs) and intelligence
gathering in crisis-prone parts of the country,
NAF, however, said lack of funds was delaying
the speedy completion of the project.
Speaking at a news conference in preparation
for the 42nd graduation ceremony of Nigerian
Airforce Institute of Technology (NAFIT),
Kaduna, its commandant, Toni Adokwe, said
the new device would enhance the success of
security agents in the fight against
insurgency.
According to him, the Unmanned Aerial
Vehicle (UAV) known as Gulma, developed by
the institute and launched last year by
President Goodluck Jonathan, had been
deployed in defence headquarters for
surveillance and intelligence gathering in
crises-prone areas of the country.
“When the project is completed, the robot
would go a long way in countering activities of
terrorist groups, as detonation of bombs will
not require the physical presence of a human
being at the scene,” he said.
The UAV, he said, was the first on the African
continent, adding that with proper funding,
Nigeria was capable of attaining higher
pedestal in military aviation and defence-
related technology.
The institute, established in 1979, is
mandated to conduct research and run
postgraduate engineering programmes in
various aerospace, aeronautical and allied
disciplines, in addition to providing other
training programmes as may be required by
the Nigerian military.
So far, it has trained a total of 5,000
graduates.



www.airforce-technology.com/news/newsnigerian-air-force-to-accelerate-ied-detonating-robot-4334952