Ethiopia displays UAVs

A still of an Ethiopian Bayraktar TB2 with MAM-L guided bombs. (Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation)

The Ethiopian Air Force is operating at least four Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), a television documentary has confirmed.

Released on the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) YouTube channel on 2 May, the documentary showed four TB2s inside a building that could be identified as one of the hangars at the air force's main Harar Meda base, south of Addis Ababa. Another two TB2s were shown at Bahir Dar Air Base, 370 km to the north.

The UAVs were seen carrying Roketsan MAM-L laser-guided bombs and appeared to be fitted with the Aselsan Common Aperture Targeting System (CATS) electro-optical systems.

A larger unarmed UAV that appeared to be a Wing Loong was also briefly seen flying, according to the documentary.

Both UAV types have been seen in satellite imagery of the two airbases since late 2021, when Ethiopia appears to have acquired them to help counter rebel forces in the Tigray region.

The Iranian UAVs that were also acquired during the two-year Tigray War were not shown in the documentary.