Tsaigumi

The Tsaigumi UAV is an unmanned aerial vehicle designed and used by the Nigerian Air Force. It is one of the first UAVs indigenously developed in Nigeria.

This is in furtherance of the ongoing drive to produce and incorporate made-in-Nigeria military weapons.

History

Former President Goodluck Jonathan claimed that the Tsaigumi is actually the same as the GULMA drone developed by Nigeria in 2013, and hence not the first domestic Nigerian UAV.[1] Air Vice Marshall Olatokunbo Adesanya disputed this, claiming that the GULMA drone "was not operational", and that the Tsaigumi was thus the first completed Nigerian UAV.[1]

Operations

Air Vice Marshal Olatokunbo Adesanya stated that the Tsaigumi would be used for operations including disaster monitor, law enforcement, weather forecasting, protecting wildlife, and monitoring Nigeria's exclusive economic zone.[2]

Design

The Tsaigumi UAV's airframe was built by the 431 Engineering Group of the Nigerian Air Force, with the avionics and telemetry equipment were developed by UAVision of Portugal.[3] The designer was reported to be Nkemdilim Anulika Ofodile, an aerospace engineer in the Nigerian Air Force.[4]

Tsaigumi means 'surveillance' in the local Hausa language. It is a twin-boom UAV spotting a pusher propeller configuration. It is fitted with an Electro-Optical Forward Looking Infra-red System (EO FLIR).


For take-off and landing, the Tsaigumi UAV is fitted with a tri-cycle landing gears which has two main wheels and a steerable front wheel attached to the nose of the vehicle.

Its maximum take-off weight is 95kg.

General characteristics


Crew: 3 Operator (Mission Commander, Pilot, Navigator)

Length: 8.6 m (28 ft)[5]

Wingspan: 6.8 m (22 ft)[5]

Max takeoff weight: 95 kg[4]

Powerplant: 128 kW (172 hp)[5]

Performance

Maximum speed: 250 km/h (160 mph)[5]

Mission radius: 100 km (62 mi)

Range: 1,000 km (620 mi)

Endurance: 10 hours[4]

Service ceiling: 15,000 ft (4,600 m)[3]

Operational altitude: 5,000 ft (1,500 m)

Armament

None

Avionics

  • Day/Night EO FLIR[4]
  • GPS
  • INS[6]

Service history

The Tsaigumi was formally inducted into service on February 15, 2018.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 Ugwuanyi, Sylvester (February 16, 2018). "Controversy as Buhari commissions Air Force drone 'earlier launched' by Jonathan". Daily Post.
  2. ↑ Blog, African Military (February 17, 2018). "Tsaigumi UAV". Unmanned Systems .
  3. 1 2 3 Binnie, Jeremy (February 16, 2018). "Nigerian Air Force to develop armed UAV". Jane's Information Group.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Taiwo, Shakirudeen (February 18, 2018). "5 things to know about TSAIGUMI - Nigeria's first operational UAV". Pulse NG.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Say Hello to Tsaigumi : Nigeria's new military drone". African Military Blog. 16 February 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  6. ↑ Ukwu, Jerrywright (2018-02-15). "President Buhari arrives Kaduna to induct Air Force Nigerian-made fighting drones". Naija.ng - Nigeria news. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
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