TB2 makes inroads south of the Sahara

7th July 2022 - 12:00 GMT | by Tayfun Özberk in Istanbul

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One of the pair of TB2s paraded on 27 June to mark Independence Day in Djibouti. (Photo: Baykar)

African appetite for armed UAVs is reflected in the first visual evidence of TB2 procurement in Djibouti and Ethiopia.

African militaries are increasingly looking to exploit the potential of combat UAVs, after changes in 2020 to US export control regulations helped to stoke interest in platforms made in China and Turkey.

In late January 2022, for instance, media reports indicated an order from Algeria for six new Caihong/Rainbow CH-5 UCAVs, which would make the North African country the launch customer for the platform.

The six CH-5s were due to be delivered in March although there was no evidence of them in TV footage of the annual Independence Day parade in Algiers on 5 July.

While Chinese UAVs and UCAVs

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Author

Tayfun Özberk

Tayfun Ozberk is a former naval officer who is an expert in surface warfare, particularly …

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