10 African countries you probably didn’t know produce their own weapons

Since the end of the Cold War in 1991, the global trade of heavy weapons system has reached its highest level, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Its 2018 report said the world’s ten biggest arms exporting countries, including the U.S., France, and Russia, made armament transfers worth more than $25 billion. Weapons sales to Africa has, however, decreased.

According to the Stockholm report, African nations have imported fewer arms over the last decade, with imports decreasing by 6.5 per cent. It said that even though many states in sub-Saharan Africa are affected by armed conflict and some receive foreign military aid, the volume of major arms imported by those states is relatively small.

Over the years, African countries that had, since time immemorial, been producing their own weapons, have been looking at ways to strengthen their weapons manufacturing capacity to produce more powerful military weapons and equipment.

In most of these countries where there had been conflicts and civil disobedience, local manufacturers or blacksmiths have been cashing in on the lucrative industry by manufacturing various types of weapons that tend to be a source of worry for authorities, as guns have become part of the culture.

The following African countries have been manufacturing some awesome weapons for their military and police, and even for export: