Who we are
Africa’s defence industry, procurement and security, reported daily in three languages.
DefenceMENA is an independent digital newsroom covering the armed forces, arms procurement, defence industry and security environment of the African continent. We publish in English, French and Portuguese, with editorial updates three times a day, for defence professionals, policymakers, industry, researchers and readers who want sourced, attributed reporting rather than press-release copy.
What we cover
Contracts, tenders, foreign military sales, deliveries and the systems behind them: what was bought, from whom, for what mission and at what price when the figure is public.
Local production, new factories, joint ventures, technology transfer and the African companies building capability at home, from Denel and Paramount to new drone and munitions plants.
Modernisation programmes, force structure, budgets, training, exercises and the regional differences between North African air power, Sahel ground forces and Gulf of Guinea maritime security.
The Sahel, Somalia, Sudan, the DRC, Mozambique, piracy, the Red Sea and border security, reported with claims attributed to the parties making them.
Every story is filed to a country desk and to the companies and systems it concerns, so you can follow Nigeria, Morocco, Angola or Baykar as a running file.
A dedicated desk on Turkish defence exports and partnerships on the continent, with technical background drawn from our partner publication Envanter Medya.
How we work
- Sourced and attributed. When we build on another outlet’s reporting, we say so by name. Company claims are attributed to the company. Official statements are linked.
- Two sources for contested claims. In active conflicts we attribute claims to the parties making them, do not state unverified casualty figures as fact and do not use propaganda accounts as sources.
- Context, not copy. A story is not “country X bought system Y”. We add what the system is, who builds it, what the country already operates, what the alternatives were and what it means for the region.
- Corrections. Errors are corrected in the article, marked with an update note, and readers can reach the editorial desk directly at editor@defencemena.com.
- Images. We use official, manufacturer or properly licensed imagery with a credit on every photograph.
Our desks
Adrian Cole covers the continent for the English edition, with a focus on procurement, industry and the Anglophone armed forces of West, East and Southern Africa.
Amadou Diallo leads the French edition for Francophone Africa: the Sahel, West and Central Africa and the Maghreb.
Joaquim Mendes leads the Portuguese edition for Angola, Mozambique, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau and São Tomé and Príncipe.
Contact and partnerships
Press releases, story tips, corrections, advertising and content partnerships: see our contact page or write to editor@defencemena.com (newsroom) and ads@defencemena.com (advertising and partnerships). Advertising options are described on our Advertise with us page.
DefenceMENA is independent and is not owned by any government, armed force or defence manufacturer.