Navy plans research institute to develop indigenous military technology – Tribune Online

Navy plans research institute to develop indigenous military technology  Tribune Online

The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, has said the Nigerian Navy is planning to establish a research institute and research and development cells across its commands to develop indigenous technologies, reduce operational costs and strengthen its combat capabilities. Abbas disclosed this in his keynote address at the Nigerian Navy’s 2026 Research and Development Seminar, held at the Naval Headquarters in Abuja on Thursday. He explained that the initiatives were designed to institutionalise innovation, harness the ingenuity of naval personnel and translate research into practical, affordable solutions to operational challenges. According to him, the Navy needed to embrace emerging technologies to counter increasingly sophisticated maritime threats, protect critical national infrastructure and improve its contribution to national security.

“The objective is not to simply acquire more technology, but to achieve greater operational effect with the resources available at our disposal,” he said. He noted that criminal networks were increasingly exploiting technology to evade detection and threaten critical national assets, requiring improved intelligence gathering, accurate surveillance and more effective deployment of military resources. Abbas said technology-enabled maritime surveillance had improved the Navy’s awareness of activities within Nigeria’s maritime domain and helped direct patrols towards identified threats. According to him, the intelligence-led approach had also enabled the service to deploy its limited assets more efficiently, reduce expenditure on fuel and