The Angolan Minister of State and Head of the Military House of the President of the Republic, Francisco Furtado, inaugurated on Monday (12) the country’s first assembly and maintenance line for warships, stressing the need for Angola to build defence capacity in response to new global challenges.
“The world is facing geopolitical and geostrategic challenges that require each country to create the capacity to defend itself,” said Francisco Furtado in his speech, broadcast by Angola’s Public Television during the inauguration ceremony at the Lobinave shipyard, located in Lobito, Benguela Province.
The official highlighted that Angola has a 1,650-kilometre coastline and an exclusive economic zone of about 200 nautical miles, which led President João Lourenço to outline a strategy to equip and modernise the national navy, “so that it is up to the challenges and defence needs” of Angola’s seas and coastline.
According to Francisco Furtado, the strategy includes creating conditions for Angola to have secure control and protection of its coast. The construction and equipping of national maritime surveillance coordination centres is currently underway.
The Angolan official noted that the programme provides for the construction of regional maritime coordination and surveillance centres, with the first inaugurated two years ago at the Soyo naval base, in Zaire Province, and two others nearing completion in Lobito and Namibe. The programme also includes maritime surveillance antenna centres and repeater antennas to ensure communication and surveillance links between the various centres.
“The Navy has also begun to be equipped with aerial maritime surveillance assets. Two C295 aircraft, acquired by the Angolan government to equip the Navy with maritime surveillance aviation, arrived in the country in October last year, as part of close cooperation between the Navy and the national Air Force. Other investments are also underway,” he said.
Francisco Furtado also pointed out that a European naval company, in partnership with Angola’s Ministry of Defence, plans to obtain international qualification certification to carry out maintenance and repair of large merchant navy vessels from any country seeking Angolan assistance. This forms part of the first project for the development of the defence industry in the naval sector.
