Aviation Tracking Data Reveals Ongoing Russian Military Supply Routes Into Sub-Saharan Africa
Summary
A new report by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS) reveals that Russian military and military-linked aircraft conducted at least 75 flights to Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger between January 2025 and July 2026, using ADS-B flight-tracking data sourced from FlightRadar24 to document the air corridor. Burkina Faso received the highest volume of flights at 56, partly due to its geographic role as a transit hub and the heightened jihadist activity in the region, while Mali received 38 and Niger only six. The most active operator identified was Flight Unit 224, a sanctioned Russian Ministry of Defense airline, alongside the Russian Special Flight Squadron and Russia's Ministry for Emergency Situations, the latter of which has previously been linked to military cargo deliveries despite its humanitarian designation. State-owned aircraft typically routed through Russia's Khmeimim base in Syria and Libyan airfields, while private carriers more frequently used commercial transit hubs in the UAE, Algeria, and Türkiye, with C4ADS flagging several unsanctioned private carriers with documented ties to Russian military logistics. C4ADS cautioned that its findings are preliminary due to limitations such as inconsistent ADS-B coverage and potential transponder manipulation, while identifying growing flight activity through Togo and Algeria as areas requiring further investigation.
Key Takeaways
- 1. Russian military and affiliated aircraft made at least 75 documented flights to the Central Sahel region over an 18-month period, highlighting a sustained and organized air logistics operation
- 2. Burkina Faso was the primary destination, likely serving as both a key operational theater and a transit point connecting Mali and Niger amid intensifying jihadist violence
- 3. Several Russian operators involved remain unsanctioned by Western governments, including Kyrgyzstan-registered Sapsan Airlines, representing a significant gap in international enforcement efforts
- 4. Russian aircraft exploit both military infrastructure, such as the Khmeimim base in Syria and Libyan airfields, and commercial hubs in the UAE, Algeria, and Türkiye to obscure and facilitate supply routes
- 5. The reliability of flight-tracking data faces limitations due to potential transponder manipulation by operators, underscoring the need for corroborating intelligence sources to fully map Russian logistics networks in Africa