If the United States have made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, or drones) mainstream through their extensive use of such armed aircraft in their wars in Afghanistan, Iraq or Somalia, among others, it is surprisingly not the States that commands the lion’s share of the market.
China has become the world’s biggest exporter of UAVs, both armed and unarmed. In the last decade, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reported that CASC, CAIG and other important Chinese UAV manufacturers sold 282 combat drones to 17 countries, while the United States only traded 12 armed UAVs.
Beijing successfully usurped Washington in this domain, producing an extensive array of drones since the early 2010s. Affordable, often reliable and free from ethical constraints, they are starting to become a real best-seller in Africa. The continent has the perfect use for these systems, as many countries face armed rebellion, jihadist movements, gang wars and difficulties to control their large territories. Moreover, China has brought an interesting way of paying: as some African countries are struggling to stabilize their public finances, Chinese companies are also accepting natural resources for payment.
Chinese UAVs offer long ranges, a variety of sensors and weapons payloads, and most importantly, are very cheap. With a price tag of $1 million, the Wing Loong I can carry two munitions, usually guided-bombs or missiles, enabling governments to track, observe, and conducts strikes all over their territory.
In the last several years, and in Africa only, it was Algeria (24 UAVs), Morocco (14 UAVs), Democratic Republic of Congo (9 UAVs), Egypt (4 UAVs), Nigeria (3 UAVs) and Ethiopia (unknown) that have been seduced by Chinese UAVs.
It is often the cheaper CH-4 and Wing Loong I, comparable to the American Predator, which are purchased, the few more capable Wing Loong II present in the continent, deployed in Libya for example, are often donations from Gulf States. The only exception being the richer Nigeria, which opted for the latter UAV to participate in its fight against Boko Haram, a jihadist movement plaguing Africa’s most populated country. Abuja was one of the first to buy Chinese UAVs, starting with smaller tactical CH-3s before 2014.
As most armed groups are short on air defence, UAVs can sometimes have a decisive impact on a conflict, the best example being Ethiopia. In 2021, the Tigrayan defence forces were storming on the capital from their positions in the north, causing panic in Addis Ababa as the government declared a state of emergency. Foreign powers started to ask their citizens to evacuate when drones entered into action, destroying columns of pick-ups and tanks only 200 km away from the city. Although it appears the UAVs were also Turkish (Bayraktar TB2) and Iranian (Mohajer 6), and not only Chinese (Wing Loong I), they proved their value. The same Chinese drones have since been suspected to be operated by the army against civilians from the Omoro, Ahmara and Tigray ethnicities.
Ethiopia’s government has also been supported by Wing Loong II strikes made by Emirati drones based in a secret base in Eritrea, further increasing the impact of these systems on the outcome of the war.
For its part, Egypt is also stepping up purchases of Chinese drones, with rumours of a contract for 32 Wing Loong 1Ds in 2021. So far, only four Wing Loong I appear to be employed, with future 1D upgraded versions of the UAV able to stay in air for 35 hours while carrying double the amount of armament. Cairo is an old client of Chinese drones, as the country bought and builds under license smaller ASN-209 observation drones.
The Egyptians’ armed drones have since been extensively used in Sinai to fight against the local Daesh uprising and near the Gaza strip to spot and hit smugglers’ tunnels. Sign that the Al-Sisi’s junta is mainly purchasing these drones to fight in guerilla-style conflicts, the Chinese manufacturer CAIG has been asked to integrate synthetic aperture radar in order to use the Wing Loongs to spot improvised explosives devices and roadsides mines.
An article from Al-Jazeera published in January 2023 also underlines a major fact of Chinese drones’ success in Africa: America’s export controls. Having signed in 1987 the Missile Technology Control Regime, made to prevent countries from accessing technologies able to carry nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, the US hasn’t been totally free to sell its UAVs. China has taken advantage of this gap, as well as of the desire of some Southern capitals to distance themselves from Washington. Moreover, US drones can be as much as 15 times more expensive to purchase: going for made-in-China UAVs can therefore help to build a much larger fleet for the same money. Not mentioning the fact that the munitions equipping these systems are also probably less expensive when procured by Beijing.
The latest African country seduced by the Chinese proposal is the Democratic Republic of Congo, which face tens of different armed groups in its western region. Kinshasa ordered in 2023 no less than nine CH-4s, with the first three having already been delivered. They are also showing another groundswell, as drones are often as effective as manned aircraft for bombing of lightly armed forces in low-intensity conflicts. This fact will create a lot of changes on the continent.
Indeed, Russia has been the traditional provider of old ground attack aircraft to many African countries, whether they are old Mig-21, L-39, more elaborate Su-25 or Mig-23 and even sometimes Su-27 fighters. But these are expensive to buy, to operate and to maintain. They also involve complex mechanic: a jet-engine is both harder to obtain and to repair than a small turboprop, and training pilots is also complex for some countries.
Drones are, besides for aerial policing operations, quite effective: they are cheap, easier to maintain and more discrete. Hence the switch in the military procurement of African militaries, moving from Russian aircraft to Chinese UAVs, which could eventually lead to a modification in geopolitical affiliations for some countries. This change could even be quicker than expected, as Russia is facing important losses in Ukraine, probably putting under stress the supply chain of parts for some aircraft such as the Su-25.
China, on its side, is putting on the market more and more potent drones, with CASC developing the Rainbow family: the new CH-5 is said to be equivalent to the Reaper drone; the CH-6 is propelled by jet engines and the CH-7 is considered an equivalent to the stealthy X-47B. The WZ-7 and WZ-10, from the same manufacturer of the Wing Loong, are marketed as the Chinese equivalent of the American RQ-4 Global Hawk high-altitude, long endurance UAV. Far from simply copying American drones, China is now proposing a whole generation of low-cost, unrestricted UAVs to win over the emerging African market.
Written by ADIT – The Bulletin and republished with permission.
