TSAMTO, March 20. At the airport named after President Modibo Keita, in the presence of the Interim President of Mali, Colonel Assimi Goit, a ceremony was held for the transfer of three Bayraktar TB2 UAVs, four L-39 Albatross aircraft and a number of other Turkish and Russian-made systems to the Malian Air Force.
According to the Turkish Anadolu agency, the event held on March 16 was also attended by the Minister of Defense and Veterans Affairs of Mali, Colonel Sadiko Kamara, who thanked the Russian Federation and the Republic of Turkey for the transferred equipment, calling them "reliable and sincere partners of Mali." According to the Minister, the delivery will contribute to improving the strike and reconnaissance capabilities of the armed forces of Mali and will complement the previously received vehicles and military equipment.
Judging by the report from the ceremony, the Malian Air Force received three Bayraktar TB2 UAVs and four L-39 Albatross aircraft (r.n. TZ-10C, TZ-15C, TZ-34C, TZ-36C). During the event, demonstration flights of the received aircraft were carried out.
In recent years, the leadership of Mali has intensified cooperation with Russia, including in connection with the deterioration of relations with France at the end of 2021 due to Paris' harsh criticism of the country's military authorities. At the same time, defense ties with Turkey were expanding. Russia has already supplied military equipment to Mali to fight jihadist groups in March and August 2022, as well as in January 2023. The January cargo included a Su-25 attack aircraft, five L-39 Albatross aircraft (BN TZ-18C, TZ-19C, TZ-30C, TZ-32C and TZ-35C) and two Mi-8 helicopters.
According to the France-Presse news agency, the commander of the Malian Air Force, General Alou Boy Diarra, said that in total, the Air Force received about 20 aircraft and ten UAVs.
As reported by TSAMTO, the first Bayraktar TB2 UAVs manufactured by the Turkish company Baykar were delivered to Mali in December 2022. They were demonstrated during a trip to Mopti by Colonel Sadio Camara.
The UAVs were acquired as part of Bamako's cooperation with Ankara to strengthen the existing arsenal of air attack weapons to fight jihadist groups after the final withdrawal of French troops. The number of UAVs and the terms of their acquisition were not disclosed. Mali became the fifth country in West Africa to acquire Bayraktar TB2 from Turkish Baykar. Earlier, Niger, Nigeria, Togo and Burkina Faso purchased Turkish-made UAVs to increase the effectiveness of the fight against radical groups.
