As the war in Ethiopia continues to rage, speculation continues over the use of armed drones in the conflict zone. But now, a series of photos of PM Abiy Ahmed’s visit to an airbase reveals interesting aircraft in the background. Could they be drones? @wammezz investigates.
To find out, Bellingcat obtained high resolution satellite imagery of the Semara Airfield from @planet and @maxar. This gave a clearer ID on the shape, size and wingspan of what were indeed drones. We could now compare them with similar Chinese, Turkish and Iranian drone types.
A closer look at the background of more images from PM Ahmed's visit suggested that these drones bear close similarities to the Mohajer-6, an armed drone manufactured by Iran.
See the curved nose and landing gear. Analysis by @oryxspioenkop also made a case for this correlation. oryxspioenkop.com/2021/08/irania…
In one image, the Ethiopian PM and colleagues glimpse inside a GCS (Ground Control Station) at the airport. A screen can be seen showing the drone feed; footage broadcast by a drone. The layout of this drone feed is highly consistent with Iranian drone feeds from 2019 and 2021.
If Ethiopia is flying Iranian drones, it is a significant addition to the list of countries benefiting from Tehran's growing drone programme.
Mohajer-6 drones have been seen in Iraq and Syria; other Iranian-made drones have been observed in Sudan, Yemen, Lebanon and Gaza. bellingcat.com/news/mena/2021…
Higher quality photographs would be needed to state anything with absolute confidence. Nevertheless, the imagery available suggests two drones present at Semara Airport consistent with the Iranian-manufactured Mohajer-6 drone. One of them may be armed with a missile.
We'll continue watching footage from Ethiopia's Tigray Conflict. Social media imagery and insights from open source researchers were instrumental in this article, which you can read here: bellingcat.com/news/rest-of-w…
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