There is little doubt China has overtaken the West as the most important supplier of weapons to Nigeria. Eighty percent of the newest and most advanced weaponry acquired by the Nigerian military in the last five years has been supplied by China. In the last five years the Nigerian military has taken delivery of the following weaponry and platforms:
Two P-18 Stealth Corvette for the Nigerian Navy.
120 Poly Technologies CS/VP3 armoured personnel carriers for the Nigerian Army.
30 AR-1 Anti-tank Missiles for the Nigerian Air Force.
Five CH-3 Armed Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for the Nigerian Air Force.
We shall be dissecting the AR-1 AGM missile because it is the only standoff weapon suitable for close air support in the military.
The AR-1 is a compact and supersonic anti-tank missile developed by China based upon the HJ-10 anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) and intended for use by unmanned air vehicles such as the CH-3.
The AR-1 can engage armored targets at ranges of up to 10 kilometers using a variety of warheads. Its guidance system is a combination of Inertial Navigation System and Satellite navigation with the target being assigned through a TV sensor. The AR-1 missile entered service in the late 2000s or early 2010s.
