Ethiopia and Nigeria are working together to develop a new generation of African-made drones for both civilian and military applications. Recently, Ethiopian officials hosted members of the Nigerian Air Force for tours of the country’s aircraft manufacturing and maintenance facilities, while Nigeria has pledged to host a reciprocal visit to highlight its military training centers.
The collaboration is designed to boost local production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in a market currently dominated by imports from China, Iran, and Turkey. Nigeria has already positioned itself as a leader in drone development, unveiling its first indigenous UAV, the Tsaigumi, in 2018 for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions. More recently, it introduced the Damisa kamikaze drone, developed with Nigerian tech company Briech UAS. The country’s TerraHaptix plant in Abuja, the largest drone production facility in Africa, has the capacity to manufacture up to 10,000 drones annually.
Ethiopia, meanwhile, launched its state-owned SkyWin Aeronautics Industry in March, establishing its own drone production hub in Addis Ababa.
The two countries join a growing list of African nations investing in drone technology. Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Sudan, and Morocco are all advancing domestic capabilities. Morocco, for example, opened a facility in 2024 to assemble Israeli-made WanderB and ThunderB drones, which are already being used for reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, and target acquisition.
