President Bola
Ahmed Tinubu, represented by the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio
today, unveiled Arridex Group’s, an industrial technology group, ADX-Barra 200
autonomous surface vessel at the Africa International Defence Exhibition 2026
in Lagos. It is one of two platforms in the ADX-Barra Series launched by
Arridex at the exhibition, both designed, built and integrated in Nigeria by
Arridex engineers.
Speaking on behalf of the President,
Senator Akpabio said, “This administration has made the growth of our defence
industry a priority, because security is strongest when a nation can build,
maintain and improve its own capability. What we have seen today is that
capability taking shape, designed and built by local engineers in partnership
with DICON. It deserves the support of the government and the confidence of our
armed forces.”
Arridex Group Chief Executive Officer,
Kayode Adeleke, presented the series as Nigeria’s first indigenously developed
autonomous surface vessels. He spoke about the importance of the Gulf of
Guinea, whose waters carry the region’s trade, support its coastal communities
and hold much of its energy wealth. He invited the services and interested
stakeholders to see the platforms at work, through demonstrations arranged at
their convenience, and to help shape each generation that follows.
Adeleke said, “The waters of the Gulf of
Guinea carry the region’s trade, support its coastal communities and hold much
of its energy wealth. Protecting them calls for capability we can build,
sustain and improve ourselves. The ADX-Barra platforms are Nigeria’s first
indigenously developed autonomous surface vessels, and they were built for that
task. We invite the services and every interested stakeholder to see them at
work, through demonstrations arranged at their convenience, and to help us
shape each generation that follows.”
Other dignitaries at the unveiling
included the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr Obafemi Hamzat; the Honourable
Minister of State for Defence, Dr Bello Matawalle; and the Director-General of
the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON), Major General Babatunde
Ibrahim Alaya. The Chief Operating Officer of Helagon, Engr. Precious
Omo-Agege, and members of the Arridex Group senior management were also in
attendance.
Autonomous vessels extend the reach of
defence and security forces on the water while keeping personnel out of harm’s
way. A vessel designed and built at home can be supported, adapted and improved
by the team that made it for as long as it remains in service.
With the ADX-Barra 200 series, Arridex
Group and Helagon have delivered a game-changing autonomous maritime capability
- designed, built, and sustained domestically.
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