"Everywhere I go in Africa, everyone talks to me about drones," boasted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his last tour of the continent in late 2021. Since then, the three countries he visited – Togo, Angola and Nigeria – have joined the less and less exclusive club of states that have equipped themselves with Turkish Aksungur and Bayraktar TB2 combat aircraft. The latter, with a 12-meter wingspan and a flight time of 27 hours within a 150-kilometer radius, carries 4 laser-guided missiles. In just a few years, it has become the showcase of the Turkish defense industry abroad. And it is now spearheading that industry in Africa.
Like China and Israel, its two main competitors in the African combat drone market, Turkey is benefiting from the growing appetite of the continent's militaries for UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles). Since 2019, Ankara is said to have sold more than 40 – figures are not public – to around 10 countries on the continent. Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali acquired several Bayraktar TB2 models in the space of 10 months. In 2022, Senegal announced that it was also in the fray for one. The Chadian army has acquired four Anka attack drones from another Turkish manufacturer.
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