Nigerian defence technology firm Terra Industries has announced plans to build the largest drone manufacturing facility in Africa. The new plant, a 34,000-square-foot site in Accra, Ghana, will serve as the company’s main production base for both drone and counter-drone systems across the region.
Named Pax-2, the facility is in its final stage of construction and is expected to begin full operations by the end of June 2026. Once up and running, the plant is projected to produce up to 50,000 drone units each year by 2028. The company also says the project will create around 120 engineering jobs in Ghana.
Pax-2 will be more than twice the size of Terra’s current 15,000-square-foot Pax-1 facility in Abuja. It marks a major step in the company’s expansion plans following a recent $34 million fundraising effort. This includes an $11.75 million round in January 2026 led by 8VC, founded by Joe Lonsdale, and a later $22 million investment led by Lux Capital. Terra says the funds will be used to increase production capacity and grow its engineering teams across Nigeria and other African countries.
The Ghana facility will manufacture several of Terra’s main products. These include the Archer VTOL, a long-range drone used for surveillance and strike missions, and the Iroko UAV, designed for quick tactical use. It will also produce Kama, a new high-speed interceptor drone capable of reaching speeds of up to 300 kilometres per hour. Kama is built to detect and stop hostile drones and is designed for large-scale production.
The expansion comes at a time when security threats are changing across Africa. In regions such as the Sahel and other parts of sub-Saharan Africa, armed groups are increasingly using modified commercial drones and fibre-optic systems as weapons. This trend has already been seen in conflicts in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
Terra believes this shift will increase demand for advanced defence systems that combine surveillance, electronic warfare, and interception technology. Speaking on the development, the company’s co-founder and chief executive, Nathan Nwachuku, said Africa must reduce its reliance on foreign defence systems.
He stated that long-term peace on the continent depends on building strong, local defence capabilities. He also explained that Ghana was chosen for the new facility because of its skilled workforce, strategic location, and government support for becoming a major defence exporter.
The Accra factory is part of a series of recent moves that have strengthened Terra’s position in the defence sector. In February, the company signed a joint venture agreement with the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria to boost local defence production. The partnership covers manufacturing, technology sharing, and supply chain development.
Founded in 2024 by Nwachuku and Maxwell Maduka, Terra Industries, formerly known as Terrahaptix, aims to build a network of manufacturing hubs called Pax Factories. This vision, described as “Pax Africana”, focuses on enabling Africa to design, produce, and control its own defence technologies.
While challenges such as global politics, production demands, and regulations across countries remain, Terra’s recent funding, government partnerships, and new Ghana facility suggest the company is making strong progress towards shaping Africa’s defence industry from within.
