Turkey TAI to deliver Hurkus-C combat aircraft to Niger, Chad

Turkish Aerospace Industries has signed a contract to deliver two Hurkus-C light trainer and combat aircraft to Niger and three to Chad.

TAI’s deputy general manager, told media that the firm will deliver the aircraft to Niger by the end of the year, and to Chad in the first quarter of 2023.

Industry sources say the price for a single Hurkus-C is about $40 million to $50 million.

The contract with Niger follows the sale of 12 Hurkus-B aircraft to the African nation under a deal signed in 2021. 

In May, the Libyan Air Force signed an agreement with TAI for the acquisition of the Hurkus-C. No details were given on quantity or delivery timeline.

The Hurkus-C is a tandem two-seat, low-wing, single-engine, turboprop aircraft that can perform close ground support missions. It is able to carry a 1,500-kilogram payload, including Cirit laser-guided missiles, Roketsan’s UMTAS anti-tank guided missiles and Mizrak anti-tank missiles.

It has external fuel tanks and can carry Aselsan’s electro-optical/infrared pod, dubbed the Common Aperture Targeting System.

The Hurkus-B is an advanced version of the Hurkus-A, with integrated avionics. The cockpit avionics of the “B” variant have a layout similar to the American F-16 and F-35 fighter jets.

defensenews 

Armed US Drones to Start Flying Over Niger

The United States and Niger have reached an agreement permitting armed American military drones for use against jihadist terror groups in the African nation, a U.S. official told VOA.
The agreement, finalized this week, is a major expansion of U.S. military’s efforts to counter terrorism in Africa. It is unclear whether the drones will be used to carry out targeted strikes or solely as a defensive measure.
Until now, the U.S. has only been conducting airstrikes against terrorists on the continent operating inside Libya and Somalia. Officials say that arming drones based in Niger would expand the military’s ability to go after extremists in West Africa, where Nigeria-based Boko Haram, Algeria-based al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and Islamic State fighters operate.
Pentagon spokeswoman Army Major Audricia Harris would not comment on the new permissions.
voanews

France withdraws Mirage 2000Ds from Niger

France has withdrawn its two Dassault Mirage 2000D fighters from Niamey that had been supporting Operation 'Barkhane', France's anti-insurgency campaign in the Sahara-Sahel region of Africa.
The aircraft had been deployed in Niger from April 2014, after it was deemed necessary to base some strike assets closer to Mali than France's air base at N'Djamena in Chad. However, on 18 February they were withdrawn to allow their reassignment to Jordan to support France's efforts against the Islamic State.
janes

Air Force may move drones, personnel inside Niger

The Air Force may redeploy its remotely piloted aircraft in Niger, moving the drones to a remote area in the Sahara to better position them to watch Islamic militants in the area.
Last year, the Air Force deployed about 100 airmen and remotely piloted aircraft to Niamey in the southwestern region of Niger to “provide support for intelligence collection and ... facilitate intelligence sharing with French forces conducting operations in Mali”. The deployment included Air Force security forces to protect the aircraft.
U.S. Africa Command is looking to move the aircraft about 450 miles north to Agadez. That city of in the northern part of the country has a small airstrip on its southern edge.
The move is at the request of, and in coordination with the government of Niger and the Nigerian Armed Forces, AFRICOM.
This location would be closer for crews to keep an eye on militants spreading in Libya to the north. Nigeria agreed to the U.S. presence to help secure the country’s borders against jihadist infiltrations from Libya.
Aircraft would still operate at the Niamey base.
The Air Force, on Aug. 21, posted a solicitation for 18 shelter systems to house U.S. aircraft and personnel in in Agadez. Earlier solicitations sought jet fuel and runway repair in the area. The move would not fully take place until the infrastructure at the base is ready.
U.S. drones have also been deployed to N’Djamena, Chad, and bases in the Horn of Africa and the Seychelles. Additional surveillance flights over Libya are flown from bases in Italy.
airforcetimes

US looking to upgrade ISR kit on Niger Diamond DA42MPP aircraft

The US government is seeking a supplier to upgrade the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities on two aircraft operated by Niger.
The draft statement of work (SOW) issued by the US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) covers the upgrade of ISR equipment on a pair of Diamond DA42MPP (Multi-Purpose Platform) aircraft currently fielded by the Niger Air Force (Armee de l'Air du Niger).
Niger took delivery of its two DA42MPP aircraft in October 2008 as part of a wider enhancement of the African nation's airborne surveillance capabilities that included the provision by France of eight Humbert Tétras microlights. The DA42MPPs are primarily tasked with counter-narcotics, -people, and -arms smuggling.
The DA42MPPs are equipped with the Airbus Defence and Space Electronics Goshawk 350 airborne observation system incorporating day and night sensors, as well as a Scotty satellite datalink allowing real-time relay of video, voice, and data to ground stations.
janes

U.S. mission in place to aid in the search for 250 schoolgirls abducted in Nigeria

The US are conducting surveillance flights over Nigeria in the search for more than 250 abducted schoolgirls and is considering the deployment of drones to the region to bolster the effort.
The US has 27 experts and security officials assigned to the mission already in place in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. The team includes five State Department officials, 10 Pentagon planners and advisers who were already in Nigeria, and seven more sent from the U.S. military’s Africa Command, along with four FBI experts in safe recovery, negotiations and prevention of kidnappings.
Officials say U.S. drones could be called into service in hunt for the 250 schoolgirls abducted by Islamists.
The United States will use its own satellite or other surveillance data and provide intelligence analysis for the search effort.
A senior Pentagon official said that the United States has not mobilized drones to aid the search but that commanders in Africa are exploring whether to do so.
The United States has drones at three military outpost in Africa — in Djibouti in the eastern Horn of Africa, where both armed and unarmed aircraft are based, and in Ethi­o­pia and Niger, which shares a long border with Nigeria. The U.S. Air Force began using unarmed drones from Niger early last year on surveillance missions in search of al-Qaeda fighters and guerrillas from other groups in north and west Africa.
The United States also is likely to provide help monitoring and intercepting communications among members of Boko Haram.
U.S. officials cautioned that the mission to find the schoolgirls would not be easy.
washingtonpost

Spanish Special Operations Troops in Exercise Flintlock 14 in Niger

Una Fuerza Conjunta de Operaciones Especiales española en el ejercicio Flintlock 14 en #Niger http://t.co/e18moMCHtj pic.twitter.com/lVaSfSBo6P
— Ministerio Defensa (@Defensagob) February 26, 2014

France Eyes King Air, Upgrades for C-130

The French Air Force is eyeing the King Air for ISR missions, while France’s special operations forces are keen to fit mission packages to their Hercules airlifters.
The Air Force is studying the twin-engine Beechcraft King Air as part of its search for a light aircraft to deliver a “development of force”.
Meanwhile, France’s special operations forces are looking to add various capabilities to their 14 Lockheed Martin C-130s, such as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), gunship and low-level air-drop.
France is studying bids to upgrade the C-130s’ avionics and cockpits.
The French Air Force is flying MQ-9 Reaper UAVs from Niger to back up special forces in northern Mali.
Today, the French Air Force flies two C-160 Gabriel aircraft for ISR missions..
defensenews

French Air France Conducts First Reaper Flight

The French Air Force Thursday flew a first flight, lasting 40 minutes, of a US-built Reaper surveillance drone based in Niger.
That flight was dubbed Dress Down Six, the flight name used by World War II French pilot and author Antoine Saint-Exupery.
The flight was in a local zone and it was still in the preparation phase of the first operational flight.
France has options to buy 10 additional Reaper units, which the government wants to modify to fit French or European payloads, including sensors and datalink transmission.
The two unarmed French Air Force Reapers, dubbed Block 1, use US equipment.
On the tactical UAV front, Sagem said Jan. 15 that France ordered at the end of December three more Sperwer drones and took options for two more units, to maintain the strength of the present four systems operated by the French Army. A Sagem spokesman declined to give financial details. The order follows acquisition of four units in 2013.
defensenews

France has begun operating one of its new RQ-9 Reaper UAVs in Mali

Earlier in 2013 France decided to buy two RQ-9s and by the middle of the year had upped the order to a dozen. This was apparently with the understanding that one or two would be available for French use in Mali before the end of the year. This was less of a problem than it appears because the U.S. was already (since January 2013) operating RQ-9s in Niger, next door to Mali and the British have their own RQ-9 operations center (where satellite links allow UAV operators to control RQ-9s anywhere on the planet) in Britain that could be used to quickly train French operators. Facilities are also available in the United States, which is also were RQ-9 ground crews are also trained. The U.S. apparently delivered on its end of the deal and France got its operators and ground support personnel up to speed on time.
France was apparently not pleased with the performance of its locally developed Harfang UAV and after a year of deliberation decided is buy American RQ-9 Reapers with the intention of getting more and standardizing on this proven UAV design. Currently two Harfang UAVs are present in Mali (operating from neighboring Niger) along with some American RQ-9s.
The MQ-9 Reaper is a 4.7 ton, 11.6 meter (36 foot) long aircraft, with a 21.3 meter (66 foot) wingspan that looks like the MQ-1 Predator. It has six hard points and can carry 682 kg (1,500 pounds) of weapons. These include Hellfire missiles (up to eight), two Sidewinder or two AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, two Maverick missiles, or two 227 kg (500 pound) smart bombs (laser or GPS guided). Max speed is 400 kilometers an hour and max endurance is 15 hours. The Reaper is considered a combat aircraft, to replace F-16s or A-10s in many situations.
The Harfang was based on the Israeli Heron Shoval UAV, which in turn is very similar to the MQ-1 and sold well to foreign customers who could not obtain the MQ-1. In addition to being one of the primary UAVs for many armed forces (Israel, India, Turkey, Russia, France, Brazil, El Salvador), the United States, Canada, and Australia have either bought, leased, or licensed manufacture of the Heron. France has bought four Harfang ("Eagle") UAVs and used them in Afghanistan, Libya, and Mali over the last four years. The RQ-9 was a more recent and more mature design, which the British think highly of. The RQ-9 has an impressive combat record in Afghanistan and elsewhere (Yemen, Pakistan, Somalia). So France decided to switch.
The U.S. will not provide Predators or Reapers weapons ready, forcing foreign users to develop their own equipment for arming the UAVs. France also, like other Predator and Reaper users, has to spend a lot of money to develop satellite link technology and set up a ground control facility (or pay to use the American one in the United States or, possibly, the new control center that just opened in Britain).
strategypage

France to use unarmed U.S.-made drones to hunt al Qaeda in Mali

France will deploy its first U.S.-made unarmed surveillance drones to West Africa by the end of the year, as it seeks to "eliminate all traces of al Qaeda".
France's military intervention in Mali in January exposed its shortage of surveillance drones suitable for modern warfare, forcing it to rely on the United States to provide French commanders with intelligence from drones based in neighboring Niger.
Paris said in June it would buy 12 Reaper reconnaissance drones built by privately owned U.S. firm General Atomics to eventually replace its EADS-made Harfang drones.
Niger gave permission in January for U.S. surveillance drones to be stationed on its territory to improve intelligence on al Qaeda-linked Islamist fighters in the region.
France intervened in Mali at the start of the year as Islamist forces, who seized control of the north in the confusion following a military coup in March 2012, pushed towards the capital Bamako.
reuters

US military to fund Niger DA42 upgrade

The US Navy intends to pay for an upgrade to Niger’s two Diamond Aircraft DA42 surveillance aircraft.
One aircraft will be outfitted with an L-3 Wescam MX-15 electro-optical/infrared sensor with a range-finding laser, plus data transmission and encryption capabilities and new operator display screens. The second aircraft will gain satellite communications equipment and radios.
The US military has been actively upgrading intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) equipment for Sahel-region governments, ostensibly to allow for operations against Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
At least two US-owned General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft are based in Niamey, Niger’s capital, to conduct ISR operations over Mali. As the border between Mali and Niger is essentially porous, operations are thought to be conducted over Niger in addition to other area nations.
flightglobal

Niger: New Drone Base Highlights A Shift In US-West African Relations

In January 2013, US military officials finalized a Status of Forces (SOFA) agreement with the government of Niger to increase military involvement throughout the country. While the move clearly reflected developments in neighboring Mali, it had long been an operational goal of the Pentagon to establish a drone base in the region.

defencetalk

American troops in Niger to set up drone base

President Barack Obama said Friday that about 100 American troops have been deployed to the African nation of Niger. Two U.S. defense officials said the troops would be setting up a base for unarmed drones to conduct surveillance.
Obama announced the deployment in a letter to Congress, saying that the forces "will provide support for intelligence collection and will also facilitate intelligence sharing with French forces conducting operations in Mali, and with other partners in the region."
The move marks a deepening of U.S. efforts to stem the spread of al-Qaida and its affiliates in the volatile region. It also underscores Obama's desire to fight extremism without involving large numbers of U.S. ground forces.
The drone base will allow the U.S. to give France more intelligence on the militants its forces have been fighting in Mali, which neighbors Niger. Over time, it could extend the reach not only of American intelligence-gathering but also U.S. special operations missions to strengthen Niger's own security forces.

militarytimes

US military plans drone base near Mali

The US military plans to set up a base for drones in northwest Africa to bolster surveillance of Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in the region as well as allied Islamist extremists, a US official told AFP on Monday.
The base for the robotic, unmanned aircraft would likely be located in Niger, on the eastern border of Mali, where French forces are currently waging a campaign against Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)

defencetalk