The Ghana Navy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Fly Zipline Ghana Limited to recover its lost drones and supplies along major river bodies in the country.
The agreement was signed by the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Rear Admiral Issah Adam Yakubu and General Manager Fly Zipline Ghana Limited, Mr Mawuli Atiemo at a brief ceremony in Accra on Wednesday.
The MoU aims to enhance collaborations in the area of capacity building and afford training opportunities between the two institutions.
Rear Admiral Yakubu said the primary role of the Ghana Navy is to provide sea defence and maritime support, thus Fly Zipline Ghana’s request for help to recover lost drones was timely and within the capabilities of the Navy.
He stressed that plans were underway to form the Ghana Navy Drone Squadron to assist in search and rescue operations.
He said the establishment of the Drone Squadron would supervise the use of its drones to support search operations along the river bodies.
He maintained that it was important to have access to a web-based tracking system and with the collaboration, analysis on info-graphics would become easier having to tap on Zipline Ghana’s expertise and capacity.
Mr Mawuli Atiemo on the other hand, was hopeful the signing of the MoU would enhance cooperation in the exchange of ideas to the advantage of the nation.
He added that Fly Zipline Ghana currently runs the largest autonomous drones across the world from its base in Ghana; delivering medical vaccines as well as emergency products like anti-snakes and rabies as well as blood.
He said in April this year, a consensus was reached, where Ghana Navy granted Fly Zipline Ghana access to its web-based monitoring platform to track and follow Zipline’s flight operations and respond swiftly should a drone ditch or a supply drop into any of the water bodies over which Zipline operates.
Dzifa Hukporti, ISD
