The Nigerian Air Force has begun a process of developing a robot capable of detonating high calibre bomb.
Air Vice Marshal John Oshoniyi, the commandant of the NAF Institute of Technology, Kaduna, disclosed this at a pre-graduation press conference in Kaduna on Monday.
He added that the institute had also developed an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for surveillance and intelligence gathering which could assist government in a crisis-prone areas of the country.
According to Oshoniyi, the robot, when completed, would be of great assistance to government in checking the series of bombing across the country by terrorist groups.
He explained that the robot required no human being to be physically present at the scene of bomb before the detonation of a bomb.
Speaking on the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle codenamed “Amebo”, which he claimed to be the first in the continent, the commandant said its development was borne out of President Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation agenda.
“AFIT has, for the past few years, been focusing on defence–related Research and Development activities as part of its contributions to the realisation of Mr. President’s vision,” Oshoniyi said.
“It is pertinent to note that following the successful launch of our Unmanned Aerial Vehicle-Amebo II last year, a modified and much improved version of the codenamed ‘Amebo III’ was produced and exhibited during the recently concluded Air Expo 2012, organised by the Nigerian Air Force. This latest version is awaiting test flight.
“In furtherance of our research efforts, the institute has been attracting interest from overseas companies who are seeking to collaborate in the area of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle development.”
He added that the Brazilian Air Force had given approval for its equivalent of AFIT to collaborate with NAF, especially in the areas of research ideas and staff development.
“All these collaborative efforts are geared towards repositioning the Nigerian Air Force for sustained employment of air power, in the realisation of the vision of the current Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Mohammed Dikko Umar,” he said.
“It is equally worth mentioning that some state governments have indicated their interest in partnering with the institute towards manpower development for the respective states.”
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