So, the U.S. has opened up a new drone base in Africa to aid in the hunt for terror suspects in places like Somalia.
Apparently, the Air Force has built a miltimillion dollar facility to host MQ-9 Reaper drones at a tiny airstrip in Arba Minch, Ethiopia. The Washington Post is reporting that the facility was built to help hunt for al Qaeda affiliate, al Shabab, in East Africa and that the base’s MQ-9s have already been used over Somalia.
However, the base is located far inland in southeast Ethiopia and is much closer to South Sudan, Uganda and Kenya than it is to Somalia. Who is operating in South Sudan, Uganda and other central African nations? Those 100 or so “combat equipped” U.S. troops who are helping the Ugandan military hunt down the leaders of the Lord’s Resistance Army — a “rebel” group that has terrorized the civilian population of central Africa for decades.
The still-under-construction base has been operational for months now with a staff of American airmen supporting the unarmed (for now) Reapers flying ISR missions, the Air Force told the Post.
This is the first I’ve heard of a U.S. base so far inside Africa. We’ve got Camp Lemonier in Djibouti that serves as the hub of operations against terrorists in the Horn of Africa — especially in Somalia and across the Gulf of Aden in Yemen– and we’re reportedly building a handful of additional drone airfields in the Horn of Africa. We also fly drones from the Seychelles (as shown in the pic above) and ships off the Somali coast. Keep in mind that U.S. operators routinely visit African nations throughout the Sahara desert region to train and assist local militaries in their fight against al Qaeda in the Maghreb. Still, I haven’t heard of any permanent U.S. bases in these nations.
Here’s the post’s description of the Ethiopian facility:
Travelers who have passed through the Arba Minch airport on the occasional civilian flights that land there said the U.S. military has erected a small compound on the tarmac, next to the terminal.
The compound is about half an acre in size and is surrounded by high fences, security screens and lights on extended poles. The U.S. military personnel and contractors eat at a cafe in the passenger terminal, where they are served American-style food, according to travelers who have been there.
These events are an expansion (at least publicly, such ops may have been going on for years without being announced) of the Pentagon’s low-profile operations in Africa. Plenty of people have asking; why are we now publicly announcing that U.S. troops are chasing the LRA and that we’re building airfields in Africa after years of Pentagon being very wary of too much publicity for its African ops? Could the Pentagon’s interests in Africa have grown beyond simply fighting Islamic terrorists to fighting destabilizing insurgencies across the continent? Or maybe these moves are meant to check increased Chinese influence on the continent? This is pure speculation, there could be a ton of answers to this question. Sound off in the comments.
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
I bet if you were on the ground you would see some UAV's that are manned by american pilots. This story makes a great cover story.
Killing Joseph Kony and dismantling the LRA would be good for the entire region, and would get us a lot of friends.
hmmm…a miltimillion dollar base sounds awfully steep :/
Why the need to put drone pilots on-the-ground in-country? Isn't the whole point to keep US personnel out of harm's way, and reduce the political liabilities of our host countries?
Maybe we need to resurrect an old idea, airship aircraft carriers like the old Akron. They could loiter on-station for months, and deploy and recover small, short-range UAV's, all out of range of small-arms, IED's, and lawyers.
But then again, without an actual base, we don't get to bribe local rulers with the construction contracts.
1. Not all of the UAVs we use are satellite-guided. A few of them (mostly Army) are piloted by radio signals.
2. Where in the article did it say there were pilots on the ground?
3. An airbase is required because these things need a support and maintenance staff just like any other aircraft.
Aircrew are still required downrange to man the ground stations. SO out of harms way is a misnomer
Yes, we need to create new lighter-than-air craft for both offensive and defensive roles. (NOT BLIMPS!) new designs/materials can result in hugely capable aircraft. Much faster than historic airships, all weather, stealthy as B-2 if wanted. Able to lift 500 tons. Solar/fuel cell powered unlimited range and linger capabilty. Totaly VTOL no need for hangars/masts/groundcrews.
see: militaryairships dot blogspot dot com
Right….And this is relevant to the U.S. expanding their drone ops in Africa how?
Regards & all,
Thomas L. Nielsen
Luxembourg
Hello Mr. Nielsen
My comment regarding airships (re: "drone ops in Africa"); was made in response to JE McKeller's prior observation about airship aircraft carriers…
" Maybe we need to resurrect an old idea, airship aircraft carriers like the old Akron. They could loiter on-station for months, and deploy and recover small, short-range UAV's,….."
Understood, I missed that reference.
Regards & all,
Thomas L. Nielsen
Luxembourg
There's still that caveat about how big the canopy is to displace 500 tons. The difference in air density between air and helium isn't that much, and to get 500 tons of buoyancy will be a large target, and making it LO at the same time presents additional design wrinkles.
Perhaps there will also be helium-refuelling in the air. The United States has a pretty large helium supply, after all…
IIRC, the US pretty much has a monopoly on helium production, and there is indeed a reasonably large supply of the stuff. However, that supply is dwindling all the time, and it is limited. So anyone planning large-scale aerostat use had better bet on hydrogen or politicians.
Regards & all,
Thomas L. Nielsen
Luxembourg
I think this is our new strategy that will help budget folks support reducing our carrier force to 10. When a crisis happens anywhere in the world, its common wisdom that the President asks where the carriers are. Could now the question be where are the carriers and do we have any drone bases nearby?
The advantages to a drone base are numerous. Small footprint in comparison to anything above a Special Ops team. Large operational range with a sizeable payload. No C-SAR if a drone is shot down or crashes. Can be quietly and quickly moved into and out of a region as necessary.
Distributed drone bases are the first step towards a high-speed, distributed Special Operations land posture.
The article says they upgraded the existing civilian airport. Looking it up it is about a 750 foot asphalt runway. Looking up the town pretty much explains the location.
The runway existing would easily accommodate US cargo planes.
We only had to upgrade as opposed to build from scratch.
It lies on what passes for a major highway.
Most importantly the human element, it is the southwestern HQ if you will for the Lutheran church in Ethiopia so it Islamist averse I'm sure and presents less of a force protection issue.
Just my two cents.
F-in zero button. 7500 foot runway.
I've just remeasured it at 8800 feet of asphalt with a 400×300 foot ramp. All in all a good runway by regional standards and plenty for C-130 resupply. Location is good with around 500 nms to both Kismayo and Mogadishu. 'Tiny airstrip' – afraid not.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=6.033333,37.55&…
Is that an aux fuel tank on the wing or a mission payload ?
According to AFRICOM PAO Vince Crawley:
"The object is part of the sensor payload. Fuel is carried internally on the aircraft. We'll check once folks are back in their offices to see if there's anything more we can add. "
If you're going to set up shop next to a civie airport you're better off announcing what's going on than let the rumor mill create some nefarious plot.
Africa is basically untouched and for Africa to be part of the global community we have to be 2 steps ahead of emerging threats. A region like Africa will be a region that terrorist can materialize and spread havoc by inserting ourselves there now and not later we have a head start. Also as Afghanistan and Iraq wind down to keep these uav Need not be in storage collecting dust. There are many pros for setting up these bases in Africa that will not only benefit American interest but global interest.
Actually we are behind the curve in Africa. Not much is mention in the media about the expansion of Chinese civil and military operations in the Africa (that is except last sentence in the article).
The Chinese are very active in Africa on a commercial/economic scale but I'm not aware of ANY military involvement. Please expand.
At least one Chinese warship was doing pirate patrols off the coast over the last year.
That is not a military operation in Africa.
There's a couple thousand troops assigned to various peacekeeping missions in Africa. They've done some training missions as well.
Killing a terrorist or dissident is not difficult for the guy using a drone viewer. The person in front of a crowd is the suspect; the viewer is right 99% of the time.
The article above is more informative than what is available in the news.
"However, the area holds regional military strategic importance for the US due to the high threat of terrorism in neighbouring Somalia and a concern for possible regional instability following the expected independence of Southern Sudan, the diplomatic sources told Fortune."
As you could read above the airport has now turned into a drone base. What other plan the US might have with the location and the base ? A military base nearby and hotels and bars to serve GIs for vacation ? The US might also use the base as a stopover between Diego Garcia and the US, that means air traffic could rise very high soon in an ecologically sensitive area with two lakes and a national park right at the airport. And the deal was signed in November 2010 i guess with Senator Kerry with the US puppet regime of Meles Zenawi. The US had a base in the then north Ethiopian province of Eritrea called Kagnew Station and also a listening station that was the most important one for the US until the introduction of satellites. In 1969, fearing growing muslim threat for its base, the US created EPLF, led by Isayas Afewerki, and facilitated the breakup of the region from Ethiopia in 1991. With this experience of betrayal we in Ethiopia should be concerned about US aims and have to prevent that it is not involved in such separatist activities again.
Perhaps the US could also use the drones to monitor the activities of opposition groups that are not islamists or terrorists but want to topple the US puppet regime in Addis Abeba.
http://ethiopiaforums.com/us-air-force-upgrading-…
Us Air Force Upgrading Arba Minch Airport to International Airport
February 8 | Posted by Ethiopiaforums |
AddisFortune : By TAMRAT G. GIORGIS
The US Air Force is upgrading Arba Minch Airport, which serves as a domestic airport in Southern Regional State, after signing an agreement with the Ethiopian government, in November 2010, reliable diplomatic sources disclosed to Fortune.
Located five kilometres from the town’s centre, the airport first become operational in November 1998. It has a runway dimension of 2,800 metres by 45 metres, but lacks crucial facilities such as fire fighting equipment, aeronautical MET, and air traffic services are not available. However, it can land aircraft the size of a Boeing 737.
The US Air Force is extending the runway and upgrading the airport to international standards with modern facilities, according to these diplomatic sources. When completed, the upgraded airport, one of 12 airports in Ethiopia of which four are international, will have the capacity to land a Boeing C-17 Globemaster, a large military transport aircraft that has been developed for the US Air Force since the beginning of the 1980s.
No official statement was made from either side about why the US Air Force is spending tens of millions of dollars to upgrade the airport in Arba Minch, located 505km south of Addis Abeba.
However, the area holds regional military strategic importance for the US due to the high threat of terrorism in neighbouring Somalia and a concern for possible regional instability following the expected independence of Southern Sudan, the diplomatic sources told Fortune.
The mobilisation of construction materials and clearing the area of wild bushes by Orchids Construction, a subcontracted local construction firm, was underway last week. Heavy-duty graders and four excavators were unearthing the area near the airport, while 20 Nissan Diesel (UD) trucks could be seen carrying mounds earth out of the project compound.
A mountain of wood, piled up after clearing from the construction site, has been visible on the opposite side of the airport’s gates, according to eye witnesses in the town Fortune spoke to. The project site is under heavy military guard, with US troops seen patrolling the area, according to these eye witnesses.
The project, estimated to cost not more than 50 million dollars, will be good for the economy of the area that is known as a tourist destination. At the time of writing, all the rooms at Paradise Lodge, a private lodge, were rented out to expatriates working on the project, while the lodge is extending its 18 tukul rooms and facilities with new constructions underway, according to residents in Arba Minch.
I don’t understand why this info is being published. You are putting at risk the life of these Americans and I’m sure their family don’t appreciate it. Stupid stupid morron! How dare you??! I hope is not any of your fam member having a meal at that soo well discribed place! So so ignorant!