The Castellum Group (An affiliate of the Ambrey Group), a United Kingdom-based defence contractor; Enlightu Engineering LLC, a United States of America-based defence consultancy firm; and Zircon Projects Limited, a surveillance and force protection consultancy firm based in Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria executed a substantive tripartite OEM technical agreement for In-Country assembly and manufacturing of long, medium and short-range surveillance and mortar payload drones today the 1st of August 2024.
The CEOs of The Castellum Group–Josh Hutchinson, Enlightu Engineering LLC – Engr Chyau Shen and Zircon Projects Limited – ‘Kunle Banjoko III executed the agreement at the London offices of the Castellum Group.
At the signing ceremony, Mr ‘Kunle Banjoko lll said with the signing of this agreement, Nigeria is set to take her rightful place as a regional player in the assembly and manufacturing of drones for military, environmental, infrastructure monitoring and agricultural purposes.
“Our partners, the Castellum Group have extensive experience in the set-up of modular assembly systems and are ready to replicate this in Kaduna, Nigeria which is an indicator for the success of this venture.”
Engr Chyau Shen of Enlightu Engineering LLC, a retired Deputy Director with the USA Department of Defence with over 30 years experience in rapid In-Field deployment of various Aerostat and UAV programs and one of the partners speaking at the event, said they are delighted to come to Nigeria to assist in set up and deployment of the technology that was a game changer for the USA forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and various conflict zones.
“Plans are also afoot for assembly and manufacturing of commercial and agricultural drones and UAVs to service African region clients and beyond with a view to establish Nigeria as a regional hub for unmanned aerial and maritime surveillance systems.
“The assembly plant will boost Nigeria’s defence capabilities, create jobs and stimulate local economic growth while prioritising technology transfer, skill development and capacity building for Nigerian professionals.”
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