A Nigerian private security company has signed a contract for the acquisition of Aerosonde Mk vertical take-off and landing unmanned aircraft systems. 4.7, manufactured by Textron Systems, with the aim of reinforcing the protection of critical installations in the oil and gas sector in the country.
The agreement was signed with Tantita Security Services and provides for the initial delivery of three Aerosonde systems. The aircraft will be supplied in a configuration completely free of ITAR restrictions, which facilitates export and deployment by international customers.
According to Textron Systems, the drones will be employed in surveillance and security operations around oil and natural gas facilities in Nigeria, which face recurring threats such as oil theft, vandalism and sabotage. The contract also includes options for operator training and the acquisition of additional aircraft, accompanying the expansion of Tantita’s operational capabilities. The new order builds on a previous delivery of Aerosonde systems made through the North American Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program to Nigeria.
The Aerosonde Mk. 4.7 was designed to operate independently of runways, utilizing hybrid quadcopter technology for vertical takeoff and landing, before transitioning to fixed-wing flight. The system is capable of carrying multiple payloads and carrying out long-duration surveillance missions, characteristics considered essential for continuous operations in high-risk areas.
According to David Phillips, senior vice president of Air, Land and Marine Systems at Textron Systems, the Aerosonde Mk. 4.7 is a mature and highly reliable solution with proven performance in challenging environments. He stated that the platform will allow Tantita to significantly expand its capabilities in protecting infrastructure considered vital to the Nigerian security and economy.
The Aerosonde family of systems has accumulated more than 700,000 flight hours in operations carried out in different regions of the world, including continuous use on more than ten United States Navy ships. The system offers multi-mission capability and can be configured with different sensors and payloads in both VTOL and fixed-wing versions.
Source and images: Textron Systems. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
