The utilization of unmanned aerial vehicles incombating illegal bunkering activities in the Niger Delta regions of Nigeria

Abstract

In contemporary surveillance and reconnaissance efforts, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been widely deployed in dangerous, low-altitude regions where manned aircrafts cannot navigate easily because of their size, purchasing costs for environmental remote sensing, monitoring, and combat mission for military operations. As UAVs are used in compromising situations, they are designed to be low cost in the event of failed recovery process and there is increased operational flexibility for military applications and non-military development. This paper provides an overview of the use of UAVs in combating illegal bunkering activities. It classifies these vehicles based on performance and size. The paper seeks to proffer potential solutions for its adoption in the Niger Delta for forestalling security, monitoring and surveillance of multinational oil companies’ pipelines operating in the region, tactical responses by security agencies to address emergency situations of oil spillage, and illegal bunkering activities for the promotion of the nation’s economic development.

Adoption and deployment of 21st century technologies in armed forces operations

“…These included autonomous drone swarms, software for defense against cyberattacks, and programs to mine social media to predict political movements and secure their lands and borders from external forces, similar to the case of the Russian invasion of Ukraine land (Sherman, 2022), which led to the loss of lives and properties for many Ukrainians who had to scamper for safety and seek refuge in neighboring countries such as Poland (Cummings, 2017;Segal, 2018). In this sense, the use of cutting-edge communication tools like Wi-Fi, encrypted codes, satellite communications systems, and instant messengers allow commanding officers and military members to spread messages and tactics in real time to give them a comparative advantage, especially against enemies with rudimentary means of communication access to all parts of the world (Brown, 2021;Dada & Akila, 2021).…”

“…This is likely the first thing people think of when they imagine computers and the military because it requires a highly-trained group sitting at a monitoring station to operate these vehicles. This advantage provides military access to airspace worldwide without the loss of manpower when a vehicle is shot down (Dada & Akila, 2021).…”