Ethiopia and Nigeria have joined forces to develop a fleet of domestically produced drones for both civilian and military applications. As part of the collaboration, Ethiopian officials recently hosted members of the Nigerian Air Force at the country’s aircraft manufacturing and maintenance facilities. In return, Nigeria has pledged to organize a reciprocal visit to highlight its military training institutions.
The partnership aims to boost the local production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in a market currently dominated by imports from China, Iran, and Turkey. Nigeria, already a regional leader in drone manufacturing, introduced its first UAV—the Tsaigumi—in 2018 for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions. More recently, it developed the Damisa, a kamikaze drone, in partnership with local tech firm Briech UAS. The country’s TerraHaptix facility in Abuja, the largest drone factory in Africa, can produce up to 10,000 drones annually.
Ethiopia also entered the drone manufacturing space with the launch of the state-run SkyWin Aeronautics Industry in Addis Ababa in March.
Across the continent, other nations are making similar moves. Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Sudan, and Morocco are investing in drone production. Morocco, for instance, opened a factory in 2024 to assemble Israeli-made WanderB and ThunderB drones, which are already in use for reconnaissance and target acquisition missions.
