Senior government officials and visiting military delegations called at the Arridex stand across the four-day exhibition
Arridex Group, an industrial technology group, has positioned its newly launched ADX-Barra Series of autonomous surface vessels, comprising the ADX-Barra 200 and the ADX-Barra 100, as a force multiplier for maritime security at the inaugural Africa International Defence Exhibition (AFRIDEX 2026), which closed in Lagos on 29 October.
The two vessels, built by Arridex engineers and delivered through Helagon, the Group’s joint venture with the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON), anchored Arridex’s presence across the four-day exhibition. On the opening day, the ADX-Barra 200 was officially unveiled on behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, by the President of the Senate, Distinguished Senator Godswill Akpabio, GCON. Dignitaries joining the unveiling included the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, His Excellency, Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat; the Minister of State for Defence, Dr Bello Matawalle; the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Defence, Honourable Babajimi Benson, MHR; and the Director-General of DICON, Major General Babatunde Ibrahim Alaya, together with the Service Chiefs of the Armed Forces of Nigeria and visiting defence chiefs and delegation leaders from across Africa.
In the days that followed, the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (rtd), and the Minister of State for Defence, Dr Bello Matawalle, visited the Arridex stand and engaged with Arridex Group leadership. Military delegations from other countries visited the stand as well, including senior Ghanaian defence officials who held discussions with the Group’s leadership and were joined by Sodah Engineering and Logistics Limited, Arridex’s partner for the Ghana Node of its ADAM Network.
Across these engagements and in his address at the unveiling, Group Chief Executive Officer, Kayode Adeleke, consistently emphasised the strategic importance of developing indigenous autonomous maritime capabilities. He presented the ADX-Barra Series as an example of how local design, engineering and manufacturing can strengthen defence capacity, deepen technical expertise and give Nigeria greater control over the development and sustainment of critical maritime systems. Describing the two vessels as the first autonomous surface vessels made in Nigeria and in West Africa, he invited the armed services and other interested stakeholders to see them at work through demonstrations arranged at their convenience.
Adeleke said, “The ADX-Barra Series is a force multiplier, extending the reach of the forces who protect our waters while keeping their personnel out of harm’s way. Our region has its own conditions, and they call for systems that can be adjusted to fit them. Building those systems here, and keeping the expertise to improve them here, is the value we intend to keep adding to the defence ecosystem.”
Safeguarding shipping routes, offshore energy infrastructure and coastal waters in the Gulf of Guinea requires sustained surveillance and effective operational coverage. Autonomous surface vessels can support that work by extending patrol and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) into areas where deploying crewed vessels may expose personnel to greater risk. Taking on complementary surveillance and other designated missions, they can augment existing maritime assets and allow crewed vessels to concentrate on operations that require a direct human presence.
Arridex Group’s commitment to building defence capability at home rests on industrial capacity already in place. The Group commissioned the Omnifactory, West Africa’s first multi-technology industrial additive manufacturing facility, in June 2026. The Mega Omnifactory, due for commissioning in 2027, is expected to rank among the largest single-site industrial additive manufacturing facilities in the world.
