The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) inducted its first indigenous operational Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) nicknamed, Tsaigumi designed for In...
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) inducted its first indigenous operational Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) nicknamed, Tsaigumi designed for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) roles.
The light weight UAV capable of land and sea surveillance, was produced by NAF Aerospace Engineers in collaboration with UAVision of Portugal.
The UAV is capable of day and night operations and has an operational endurance in excess of 10 hours, a service ceiling of 15,000 feet and a mission radius of 100 km.
It has a maximum take-off weight of 95 kg and its payload is an electro-optic/infra-red camera system.
Powering the Tsiagumi is an internal combustion engine driving a 2 blade propeller in pusher configuration.
It could also be used for policing operations, disaster management, convoy protection, maritime patrol, pipeline and power line monitoring as well as mapping and border patrol duties. In addition, it could be deployed for the protection of wildlife, weather forecast and telecast.
Additionally, in the maritime domain, the Tsaigumi UAV could be used for search and rescue, coastal monitoring and patrol of Nigeria’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
Nigeria Air Force currently operates a fleet of armed CH-3 drones acquired from China. An unknown no of these are operational, and have been successfully employed to strike Boko Haram terrorist ground targets.
