Nigerian defence startup Terra Industries (formerly Terrahaptix) has officially weaponised its flagship Duma Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) with machine guns and rocket launchers to support active combat operations.
The move marks a pivot from surveillance toward kinetic capability for the Abuja-based firm. This development follows a series of strategic milestones in early 2026, including a landmark partnership with the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) and a funding extension that brought the company’s total capital to $34 million. By integrating weaponry into the Duma, Terra Industries aims to provide the Nigerian military with a locally manufactured alternative to imported combat robotics.
The Duma is a modular, multi-role UGV designed specifically for the varied terrain of the African continent. While it previously served as a reconnaissance and logistics platform, the new combat variant is being developed as part of a classified project with the Nigerian military. The system can carry a cargo payload of up to 400 kg and has a towing capacity between 1 and 2.5 tonnes, making it suitable for transporting supplies like food and water to frontline troops.
Seen on TVC news report, the Duma UGV was armed with an M240 machine gun. The M240 machine gun is a belt-fed, gas-operated, general-purpose machine gun used by all branches of the U.S. military. It is the American designation for the Belgian FN MAG 58, first adopted by the U.S. Army in 1977. Renowned for its extreme reliability, it is utilized as a crew-served weapon for infantry, as well as on vehicles, aircraft, and watercraft. It fires from an open bolt with a maximum range of 3,725 meters, providing superior stopping power compared to 5.56mm weapons like the M249 SAW.
The platform is powered by Artemis OS, a proprietary AI-driven operating system that synthesises data from multiple sensors into a unified command and control centre. For combat missions, Terrahaptix has implemented a strict “human-in-the-loop” policy. While Artemis OS handles autonomous navigation and threat detection, military personnel must remotely operate the weapon systems to ensure human oversight before firing. The vehicle maintains an operational endurance of approximately 3.5 hours on a single charge.
The company had earlier stopped building systems for the Nigerian military due to geopolitical issues; however, it recently re-entered Africa’s defence market after briefly exiting it.
This technical shift aligns with a broader effort to establish a domestic military-industrial complex in Nigeria. On 23 February 2026, Terrahaptix and DICON signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a joint venture for local assembly and research. This agreement, executed under the DICON Act 2023, is intended to reduce the country’s reliance on foreign defence contractors. By mass-producing the Duma at its factory in Abuja, Terrahaptix provides the Nigerian Armed Forces with a system that has a more secure supply chain than European or Asian imports.
The weaponisation of the Duma shows how quickly the regional defence market is evolving toward autonomous and semi-autonomous systems. As the Nigerian military faces persistent security challenges, the deployment of armed UGVs could reduce the risk to infantry during high-threat patrols and perimeter defence of critical infrastructure like power plants. The company, founded in 2024 by Nathan Nwachuku and Maxwell Maduka, is now scaling its engineering workforce to meet these new requirements.
The first batch of weaponised Duma units is expected to undergo final field trials in the middle of 2026 before wider deployment. Future testing is expected to focus on the integration of more diverse weapon stations and enhanced electronic warfare resistance. As the DICON joint venture matures, the next phase will likely involve the delivery of a standardised combat-ready fleet to the Nigerian Army.