Terra Industries, Africa’s most‑funded defence‑technology startup, is building a 34,000‑square‑foot drone manufacturing facility in Accra, Ghana. Named Pax‑2, the plant will become the continent’s largest when it opens in June 2026, more than doubling the footprint of Terra’s flagship 15,000‑square‑foot factory in Abuja, Nigeria. This expansion marks the company’s first manufacturing venture outside its home market and is expected to create 120 engineering jobs.
Pax‑2 will target an annual production capacity of 50,000 units by 2028, producing three of Terra’s aerial systems: the Archer VTOL, a long‑range surveillance and strike platform; the Iroko UAV, designed for rapid tactical deployment; and the newly announced Kama interceptor drone, capable of speeds up to 300 km/h and tailored for counter‑drone defence.
The expansion comes amid escalating drone warfare by al‑Qaeda and Islamic State affiliates across the Sahel. Between 2023 and 2025, Jama’at Nusrat al‑Islam wal‑Muslimin (JNIM), the al‑Qaeda coalition operating in Mali and Burkina Faso, conducted at least 89 drone operations. In January 2026, Islamic State Sahel Province struck Niamey International Airport in Niger with suicide drones, underscoring the growing threat to critical infrastructure.
Terra’s co‑founder and chief executive, Nathan Nwachuku, said Ghana was chosen for its talent pool and “political will to become a serious defence exporter.” He added that lasting peace in Africa requires sovereign defence capabilities rather than reliance on foreign security architecture.
Founded in 2024 by Nwachuku and Maxwell Maduka, Terra has raised $34 million across two funding rounds in 2026, making it the most‑funded defence‑tech startup on the continent. An $11.75 million round led by 8VC in January was followed by a $22 million follow‑on led by Lux Capital, with participation from Flutterwave chief executive Olugbenga Agboola’s Resilience17 Capital. The company sells defence hardware bundled with its proprietary ArtemisOS software on a recurring‑fee basis, a modelled after U.S. defence primes Anduril and Palantir. Terra claims to protect roughly $11 billion in assets across eight African countries, including hydropower plants, lithium mines and oil facilities.
The Ghana expansion follows a February memorandum of understanding with the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) to establish a joint venture for local assembly and training. Executed under the DICON Act 2023, which permits public‑private partnerships, the agreement integrates Terra into Nigeria’s formal defence manufacturing structure. The company has also appointed Nnamdi Chife, a counter‑insurgency specialist, as Vice President of Military Relations.
Eleven African countries have experienced drone attacks from non‑state actors, with armed groups repurposing cheap commercial drones by attaching improvised explosive devices. While Sahelian armies have invested heavily in offensive Turkish drones—Mali operates at least 17 Bayraktar TB2s, and Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have all acquired the more advanced Akıncı—counter‑drone defences have lagged. The Institute for Security Studies notes that the region lacks the means to detect and neutralise small, low‑flying commercial drones, leaving critical infrastructure exposed. Terra is positioning the Kama to fill that gap.
Construction on Pax‑2 is in its final phase, with the facility expected to be fully operational by the end of June 2026. Whether Terra can convert its funding lead into durable government contracts—particularly with the Confederation of Sahel States, which has cut ties with ECOWAS and is actively procuring drone systems—will test the company’s claim that African defence buyers will prefer a homegrown prime over established foreign suppliers.
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