The Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has held high-level discussions with a delegation from China Aerospace Long-March International Co., Ltd (ALIT) in Fort Portal, which focused on defence cooperation as the Uganda Peoples' Defence Forces (UPDF) continues to strengthen its aerospace capabilities and national security infrastructure through international technological collaboration.
ALIT is a subsidiary of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), a state-owned enterprise with institutional roots tracing back to 1956.
The company specialises in aerospace systems, offering international solutions in air defence, precision-guided systems, unmanned aerial platforms, and border and coastal surveillance.
Beyond equipment supply, ALIT partners with international defence forces through joint product development, co-production and technology transfer.
The Chinese delegation comprised Dr. Chen Yan, Technical Programme Director, Liu Yin, Lead Advisor, and Teng Yaze, Director of Defence Systems.
The discussions build on General Muhoozi’s official visit to China last year, during which he toured several advanced defence technology enterprises.
Welcoming the delegation, General Kainerugaba reaffirmed Uganda's longstanding partnership with the People's Republic of China, acknowledged ALIT's standing as a state-owned enterprise, and stressed the UPDF's strategic preference for direct engagement with original manufacturers rather than working through intermediaries.
"We value Uganda's longstanding partnership with the People's Republic of China and appreciate ALIT's standing as a state-owned enterprise," he said, adding that the UPDF's strategic preference is to engage directly with original manufacturers rather than working through intermediaries.
The engagement underscores the UPDF's efforts to modernise its aerospace capabilities and strengthen national security infrastructure through international technological collaboration.
