The capabilities of Turkey’s Bayraktar TB-2 tactical drone, highlighted during the Nagorno-Karabakh War, Libya, Syria and more recently Ukraine, have won over several African countries, particularly those fighting armed terrorist groups to have. [GAT] from the al-Qaeda movement or the Islamic State. So Niger has ordered half a dozen copies [avec des avions d’entraînement Hükuş, également de facture turque]as well as Togo, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Morocco and Tunisia.
Mali has also expressed interest in this device from the Turkish manufacturer Baykar. Only given Bamako’s alliance with Moscow and the presence of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner alongside the Malian armed forces [FAMa]One might have thought that Turkey would hesitate to respond positively to this expression of interest since Russia would have found an opportunity to study TB2 closely.
But the Russian armed forces are already intimately familiar with Baykar’s tactical drone, having seen it in action in the theaters where it’s deployed. [et où elles ont très certainement récupéré des épaves de cet appareil].
However, the issue of respect for human rights could have put a brake on the potential sale of TB2 in Bamako… especially since successive United Nations reports on the situation in Mali have reported a significant increase in attacks on civilians, both by the GAT and by the Malian government troops and their Russian auxiliaries. But in Ankara it’s not really an issue…
Mali bought TB2 drones from Turkey to fight jihadist groups. pic.twitter.com/mMXtWOQiQy
— Restitutor Orientis II 🇯🇵 (@restitutorII) December 22, 2022
Anyway, Mali got what it wanted in the end. In fact, Malian Defense Minister Colonel Sadio Camara was presented with TB-2 drones during a visit to Mopti Air Force Base [centre du pays], 21st December. These devices, the number of which was not specified, were acquired as part of the partnership between Bamako and Ankara, the Mali Radio and Television Bureau said. [ORTM].
As a reminder, a TB-2 system includes a control station and up to six drones. With a running time of at least 24 hours, this device has a limited range of 150 km, which seems little given the vastness of Mali. It can fly at a cruising speed of 130 km/h at a maximum altitude of 22,500 feet and carries several types of weapons including UMTAS missiles and precision “micromunitions” MAM-C and MAM-L.
In addition to these TB-2 drones, this time Mali has also received several aircraft from Russia, including four L-39C Albatross, two helicopters [un Mil Mi-24P et un Mil Mi-8] and two Su-25 “Frogofoot” fighter jets, one of which was lost in October. These devices are piloted by Wagner employees.