The visit follows the recent signing of an MoU between MARSS and the Nigerian Ministry of Defence, valued at over $190M, to deliver an AI-powered national defence architecture.
UK defence technology company, MARSS, has hosted a senior delegation from the Nigerian Government, including the Honourable Minister of Defence General Christopher Gwabin Musa (rtd) OFR, at its R&D and technology innovation lab – marking a significant step forward in the delivery of Nigeria’s first fully integrated national C4I programme.
The four-day visit follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between MARSS, the Nigerian MoD, and local partners, MPS Mikopowers Ltd and APS Aegis Ltd, in London in March 2026. Valued at over $190 million, the multi-year programme will be among the largest defence programmes commissioned in Africa, delivering MARSS’s NiDAR AI-powered C4I solution as a national shield to protect Nigeria and its borders against asymmetric threats.
During the visit, the Nigerian delegation received live demonstrations of MARSS’s core technologies, including the NiDAR C4I system and its integration into border surveillance solutions. The NiDAR demonstration showcased the system’s full operational capabilities, including live target detection, tracking, classification, and decision support, in addition to simulated NiDAR Mission Management featuring ISR drone investigation, swarm scenario management, and soft kill and hard kill countermeasures.
The visit also included technical discussions on the scope and architecture of the multi-domain Hybrid Intelligence shield, including integration with Nigeria’s legacy national command and control systems, the establishment of a Centre of Excellence, and the deployment of mobile units. Dedicated sessions also addressed Nigeria’s border protection requirements and the defence of key military installations.
Johannes Pinl, Founder and CEO of MARSS, said, “Welcoming the Nigerian delegation to our innovation lab was an important milestone. It gave us the opportunity to demonstrate, in a live environment, the full breadth of what NiDAR can deliver. This programme is about building sovereign capability for Nigeria, ensuring the country has the skills, knowledge, and local infrastructure to operate and sustain its national defence architecture independently. This visit has set us on a clear path towards delivery.”
Mrs Bosede Olaniyi Opeyemi, Director of Joint Services Nigerian Ministry of Defence, commented, “This visit has further reinforced our confidence in MARSS and its Nigerian partner MPS Mikopowers Ltd as defence technology partners. Their team demonstrated a deep understanding of our operational requirements and how NiDAR can be integrated with our existing national systems to deliver a step change in capability.
“This programme is as much about building local operational capacity as it is about the technology itself, and the proposed Centre of Excellence for simulation and training will be central to that. We leave confident in our shared vision for what this partnership will achieve for Nigeria’s security, and are committed to accelerating delivery of this programme.”
The programme supported by the UK Government, represents one of the first national-scale adoptions of AI-enabled C4I in Africa. Under the agreement, MARSS will deliver its NiDAR solution alongside a training, spares and support programme, with a new national command centre, to ensure Nigerian operators maintain a high state of operational readiness.
