The Nigerian Air Force made a major stride Tuesday when it announced that it used an Unarmed Combat Aerial Vehicle (UAV) popularly known as Drones to destroy a Boko Haram logisitics base in Sambisa forest. Nigerian Air Force Group captain Ayodele Famuyiwa confirmed that the drone’s weapon was activated over what looked like an ammunition and fuel depot for the terrorist group, seemingly destroying it in minutes. This is the first time the Nigerian Army has used a Drone in its fight against terrorism, though there have been a few drone trials over the past two years. The armed CH-3 UAV was sold to Nigeria by China, to help in its campaign against Boko Haram.
Nigeria joins other Nations like the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, Pakistan, and Iraq who have adopted the use of Drones in modern warfare. However, unlike these countries, Nigeria is yet to fully utilize some of the other technological and logistical advances of modern warfare. Here are a few of them:
Rafale fighter jets
Rafale fighter jets, made by France for France, are used by the country for reconnaissance missions in War. The Rafale fighter jets play an “omnirole” in war, i.e. they can play many roles in war. These roles range from ground support for the military, to nuclear deterrence to aerial reconnaissance e.t.c. Rafale, which literally means “gust of wind” to qualify their speed prowess, was used by the French government to bomb ISIS positions in Syria immediately after the terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015. The French Government promised Nigeria the use of its Rafale jets to find the kidnapped Chibok girls also last year. However, there’s been no official comment from the French government since then. Perhaps, Nigeria would do well to get them for itself, since other countries Air-force are planning on that.
Sniper Division
Snipers-soldiers who shoot from where they cannot be seen-of the British Army are arguably the best snipers in the world, with many of them holding records for long distance kills in battle, some miles away. Along with drones, the British army uses its snipers extensively in the war against terror, with its snipers usually infiltrating enemy lines and taking out their targets from long distances. A British elite team of snipers has been sent to infiltrate ISIS enemy lines to kill Jihadi John’s replacement, an operation to “cut of the head” so it seems. The Nigerian Army could use an upgrade in its sniper division, especially in its aim to find Boko Haram’s “dead or alive?” leader, Abubakar Shekau.
Intelligence
Three of the Countries on the “drone” list have arguably some of the best intelligence networks in the World. The British MI6, the American CIA, and Israel’s Mossad all help in serving as a base for information on which their armies act on. Nigeria needs to work on its information-gathering network, seeing that it seemingly wants to engage in advanced forms of warfare. The spate of suicide bombings and guerrilla attacks from Boko Haram can seemingly be stopped with adequate intelligence gathering.
Other advanced methods include the F-13 Eagle Jet used by the US, the formation of Nigeria’s own Special forces e.t.c.
