Nigerian drone maker tests Africa’s push for defence autonomy
Terra Industries says it is building drones locally as African governments seek alternatives to imported security technology.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
3 min read
A Nigerian start-up is trying to move African defence technology from import dependence toward local production. Al Jazeera reports that Terra Industries, founded in 2024 in Abuja, is building drones, surveillance towers and unmanned ground vehicles as governments across the continent face border, infrastructure and insurgency threats.
According to Al Jazeera, African militaries have long relied on suppliers outside the continent for major systems, including Turkish drones, Chinese surveillance equipment and Russian aircraft. Terra Industries says it wants to reduce that dependence by designing and manufacturing more of its systems in Africa.
Local manufacturing push
Terra was founded by Nathan Nwachuku and Maxwell Maduka, both in their early twenties, Al Jazeera reported. The company operates from facilities in Abuja and Accra and says it makes its own software, airframes, propellers and lithium-ion battery packs.
Terra told Al Jazeera that more than 70 percent of its inputs are sourced locally. The company also says its technology is being used to secure about $11 billion worth of infrastructure, including power plants, lithium and gold mines, oil refineries and other strategic sites in eight African countries and Canada.
Nwachuku, Terra’s chief executive, told Al Jazeera that demand varies by region. He said West African coastal states are focused on maritime monitoring because of piracy and illegal fishing in the Gulf of Guinea, while other governments want border surveillance, rapid response tools and protection for pipelines, power assets and mines.
The company is also planning a larger manufacturing base in Ghana. Nwachuku told Al Jazeera that Terra’s second production facility there is expected to become Africa’s largest drone manufacturing hub, with capacity to produce 50,000 units a year by 2028.
Investors back defence technology
Terra says it has raised $34 million in seed funding, which it describes as one of the largest early-stage funding rounds in African technology. Al Jazeera reported that the round was led by 8VC, the venture firm founded by Palantir Technologies co-founder Joe Lonsdale, with Lux Capital and Valor Equity Partners also participating.
Tage Kene-Okafor, Terra’s director of communications, told Al Jazeera the round closed in less than two weeks. He said the company’s investors include firms that have backed defence and advanced manufacturing companies globally, including companies such as Anduril and SpaceX.
The funding comes as drones play a growing role in conflicts in Africa, Al Jazeera reported. The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project said Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, an al-Qaeda-linked coalition active in Mali and Burkina Faso, has carried out more than 100 drone attacks since 2023, with 2025 recording the highest number so far.
Terra says its Kama interceptor drone was built for that threat. The company told Al Jazeera the system can reach speeds of up to 300kph and is intended to counter hostile drones where conventional air defences are unavailable or too costly.
Oversight questions remain
Al Jazeera reported that Terra’s growth has raised a broader question: whether local production can translate into defence sovereignty. Manufacturing capacity can be built through investment and engineering, but long-term control also depends on procurement systems, regulation and public accountability.
Janice Greaver, director at the Pan African Sustainable, Innovation and Development Associates, told Al Jazeera that local sourcing figures do not settle questions about ownership and oversight. She said it matters who controls intellectual property, who gets jobs and whether private capital supplying the state faces civil society scrutiny.
Greaver warned that countries risk replacing reliance on foreign suppliers with reliance on unaccountable domestic capital. Al Jazeera reported that Terra’s rise shows advanced defence systems can be designed and made in Africa, while the test for governments will be how they buy, regulate and oversee the technology.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.