Controversy Trails Launch of NAF's Indigenous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle …

Controversies have continued to trail the launch of Nigerian Air Force (NAF) indigenous operational Unmanned aerial vehicle by President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday in Kaduna State.

This is as former one of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s aides, Mr. Reno Omokri accused Buhari of repackaging and launching a programme his principal launched on December 18, 2013, when his former boss unveiled the first ever made in Nigeria drone built by the Nigerian Air Force in Kaduna and asked. Why can’t the Buhari government stop lying? Why must they be so dishonest?

According to some insiders, the launch of the aerial vehicle by President was merely a repackaged programme of the Jonathan's administration.

The launch has also attracted criticisms across social media platforms with many tagging the launch as 'project theft.'

Conversely, NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Vice Marshal Olatokunbo Adesanya explained that there was no any trace of conflict in the project.

He said: "It has become necessary to clarify certain misconceptions, which followed the announcement, by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), of the induction of its first indigenous operational Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) by President Muhammadu Buhari.

"To set the records straight, while GULMA UAV is indeed the NAF’s first indigenous UAV, the newly inducted TSAIGUMI UAV is the first indigenous OPERATIONAL UAV. Both UAV types are the outcomes of Research and Development (R&D) efforts of a team of NAF Aerospace Engineers.

"NAF’s foray into UAV development commenced in 2008, when its student officers, who were undergoing postgraduate studies in aerospace engineering programmes at Cranfield University, UK, chose UAV development as their research project.

"The student officers produced the AMEBO UAV as part of their project and it had neither autopilot nor Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capability.

Adesanya stated that "by 2013, the NAF developed an experimental UAV, codenamed GULMA, which was then unveiled as the first indigenous UAV. It is noteworthy that Gulma UAV was a technology demonstrator used to gather performance data on UAV systems.

"Consequently, in September 2015, the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, directed the NAF’s R&D Team to build an operational UAV, codenamed TSAIGUMI to be used in the Northeast and other theatres of operation in Nigeria.

"The data gathered from the Gulma prototype was subsequently applied in the design of the operational UAV, known as Tsaigumi, and inducted into service on 15 February 2018. Although the Tsaigumi UAV was manufactured at the Air Force Research and Development Centre at NAF Base Kaduna, the Team had to collaborate with an overseas facility to produce the moulds.

"Tsaigumi UAV, which is capable of day and night operations, has an operational endurance in excess of 10 hours, a service ceiling of 15,000 feet and a mission radius of 100km.

"It has a maximum take-off weight of 80kg and its payload comprises an electro-optical infrared camera system as well as weapon hard points.