Chinese and Turkish drones enhance Haftar’s capabilities
The arrival of new combat drones at Al-Khadim airbase represents a major symbolic victory for the commander of the Libyan National Army, as it will strengthen his control over the east and a large part of the south.
A report revealed that Libyan National Army commander Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar appears to have acquired Chinese and Turkish combat drones, despite the long-standing United Nations arms embargo on the divided country.
Commercial satellite images showed at least three drones at Al-Khadim airbase, located in the desert about 100 kilometers east of Benghazi, between late April and December. Their arrival had not previously been reported.
According to three weapons experts who reviewed the images, ground control equipment for the drones appeared to still be visible this year.
Drones played an important role during Libya’s civil war between 2014 and 2020, when the Libyan National Army attempted to overthrow the internationally recognized government in Tripoli, accusing it of harboring armed militias and “terrorists,” which the government denied. United Nations investigators said countries including Egypt and Russia provided significant support to Haftar, while Turkey supported the Tripoli government. China avoided taking sides.
Libya’s warring factions agreed to a ceasefire in 2020, but the country remains divided between Haftar’s administration in the east and the Tripoli-based government led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah in the west.
Anas El Gomati, head of the Sadeq Institute, a Libyan research organization, said the arrival of new combat drones at Al-Khadim “represents a major symbolic victory” for the Libyan National Army commander, as it will strengthen his control over the east and much of the south, including key oil fields, and reinforce his position in negotiations aimed at forming a unified Libyan government.
El Gomati added that these weapons could also be used to protect supply lines of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in neighboring Sudan. Haftar denies supporting these forces.
He noted that the Libyan National Army is not known to possess the technical expertise required to operate such drones, adding, “The question remains: who is operating them?”
Experts reviewing the satellite imagery suggested that one of the drones is likely the Chinese Wing Loong-1 (FL-1), an advanced reconnaissance and strike drone. The three experts agreed that the other two appeared to be Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drones, which are less powerful, while not ruling out the possibility that they could be other models.
The manufacturers Zhong Tian Feilong Defense, based in Xi’an, and Baykar, based in Istanbul, did not respond to detailed questions. The Tripoli-based government also declined to comment.
Sources could not confirm whether China, Turkey, or any other UN member state had sought exemptions from the embargo to send drones to eastern Libya. The UN Security Council committee responsible for such requests did not respond to questions.
The UN Peacebuilding Affairs department referred to a Security Council resolution last year expressing “grave concern” over ongoing embargo violations, which requires UN approval for any arms transfers to Libya.
The embargo has been in place since 2011, when a NATO-backed uprising toppled Muammar Gaddafi. However, a UN panel of experts monitoring the embargo said sophisticated weapons flowed into the country during the subsequent war, turning Libya into the first major theater of drone warfare in Africa.
Tensions have since eased, but according to analysts and UN investigators, evidence suggests both sides are seeking to enhance their air capabilities.
Media reports in December said the Libyan National Army reached a $4 billion deal with Pakistan for military equipment, including JF-17 fighter jets developed with China.
Pakistani officials said the deal did not violate the embargo. UN sanctions officials and Pakistan’s foreign and defense ministries did not respond to questions.
Acquiring Chinese and Turkish drones would significantly boost the LNA’s capabilities after a fleet of Chinese Wing Loong-2 drones left Al-Khadim in 2020, as documented by the UN.
Turkey had supplied the UN-recognized government with TB2 drones and air defense systems that helped repel Haftar’s assault on Tripoli in 2020, leading to a prolonged stalemate.
The air power balance shifted further in Tripoli’s favor in October 2022 when it signed a deal with Turkey to purchase more advanced Bayraktar Akinci drones, capable of carrying nearly three times the payload and flying at higher altitudes than the Wing Loong-2.
However, relations between Turkey and the LNA commander have improved recently, as Ankara seeks to protect economic and energy interests in Libya and secure eastern parliamentary ratification of a controversial 2019 maritime boundary agreement with western Libyan authorities.
The LNA said in a statement that Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin met Haftar and his son Saddam in Benghazi in August to discuss ways to “enhance cooperation” in intelligence and security.
Saddam Haftar visited Ankara three times last year, meeting senior officials including Defense Minister Yasar Güler. Turkey’s Defense Ministry described the cooperation as a step toward “a unified Libya.”
Satellite images reviewed by Reuters showed that between late April and July last year, a previously unseen drone type in Libya was observed on the ground outside a hangar at Al-Khadim. Wim Zwijnenburg of the Dutch peace organization PAX said the same type appeared on the runway in a May 3 image from Planet Labs, suggesting active use.
Zwijnenburg said the fuselage dimensions resembled the Wing Loong-2, but wing design suggested the Wing Loong-1. This was supported by Jeremy Binnie of Janes and Joseph Dempsey of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Few images of this model exist, making definitive identification difficult.
A new hangar was completed in November over the spot where the drone had been parked, possibly explaining its absence in later images. A truck carrying satellite equipment, likely used to guide the drone, was seen nearby on January 12.
Justyna Gudzowska of The Sentry said Haftar has long appeared to seek Chinese military drones, citing international enforcement actions targeting sanctions violations.
Investigators in the United States, Canada, and Italy believe Chinese drones were involved in two attempts to smuggle unauthorized military equipment into eastern Libya since 2019.
In June 2024, Italian authorities seized drone spare parts en route from China to Benghazi based on U.S. intelligence. A draft 2025 UN panel report said the parts matched components of Wing Loong-1 drones covered by the embargo.
China denied the parts were military equipment, saying they resembled Mugin models used for emergency rescue and disaster relief.
Two smaller drones appeared in a December 17 Planet Labs image. Dempsey said their dimensions and tail design matched Turkish TB2 drones.
This model gained prominence when used by Ukraine and has been widely exported, including to the UAE.
Although similar models exist, distinctive dual-antenna ground control units seen in images between July and March indicated TB2 operations in the area.
Planet Labs images showed extensive renovations at Al-Khadim since early last year, including new hangars where the drones were seen.
A UN panel draft said another structure under construction was likely intended “for parking and launching Turkish Bayraktar drones.”
Russian forces based at Al-Khadim use Libya as a hub for operations in West and Central Africa, but experts do not believe they operate the drones seen.
Baykar CEO Haluk Bayraktar said in a 2022 CNN interview that the company would never supply drones to Russia because “we support Ukraine and its sovereignty.”
Zwijnenburg concluded that although Moscow uses some Chinese reconnaissance drones and components, there is no record of it using fully assembled Chinese combat drones.
