Gerjon’s Aircraft Finds

Share this post

A second Wing Loong delivery flight to Ethiopia?

gerjon.substack.com

A second Wing Loong delivery flight to Ethiopia?

An "Abakan Air" Il-76 flying for "Aviacon Zitotrans" from Chengdu, China, to Harar Meda Airport, Ethiopia, via Karachi, Pakistan.

Gerjon
Oct 14, 2021
1
Share
Share this post

A second Wing Loong delivery flight to Ethiopia?

gerjon.substack.com

On 12 October 2021, I identified an “Abakan Air” Ilyushin Il-76TD landing at Harar Meda Airport in Ethiopia. This article presents why this flight likely delivered goods from Chengdu, China, possibly Wing Loong I UAVs, to the main base of the Ethiopian Air Force.

The precedent

On 17 Sep 2021, I reported the arrival of an “Antonov Airlines” Antonov An-124 reg. UR-82029 to Harar Meda Military Airport in Ethiopia. The flight arrived from Chengdu, China, and made an overnight stop in Islamabad, Pakistan. According to Oryxspioenkop

1
, this flight could be related to the arrival of Wing Loong I UAVs, since Chengdu is where the Wing Loong I is produced.

Twitter avatar for @Gerjon_
Gerjon | חריון @Gerjon_
Flight of interest: this morning, "Antonov Airlines" Antonov An-124 (one of the world's heaviest cargo aircraft) reg. 🇺🇦UR-82029 landed at 🇪🇹Harar Meda Military Airport, the main Ethiopian Air Force base, as #ADB3876. Flight came from 🇨🇳Chengdu, China via 🇵🇰Islamabad, Pakistan.
Image
9:31 AM ∙ Sep 17, 2021
252Likes251Retweets

The new flight: “Abakan Air” RA-76807

A very similar flight caught my eye on 12 Oct 2021, when an “Abakan Air”

2
Ilyushin Il-76TD (reg. RA-76807, serial 1013405176) was tracked descending over Central Ethiopia, using “Aviacon Zitotrans” callsign AZS3901. Both are Russian cargo airlines.

Similar analysis techniques

3
previously used to distinguish MLAT flights to Addis Ababa Bole International Airport and the nearby Harar Meda Military Airport, I was able to establish that this flight most likely landed at Harar Meda Military Airport.

Despite MLAT being a major limiting factor, I was able to establish that the Il-76 was tracked landing around Chengdu, China, around 05:50 UTC on the previous day, 11 Oct 2021, thanks to positionless Mode-S data. Her exact take-off time on that day remains unknown.

Like the earlier “Antonov Airlines” flight, also the “Abakan Air” made an overnight stop in Pakistan (11-12 Oct 2021): the aircraft was spotted by various people on ground at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, Pakistan, including the picture shown below.

Positionless Mode-S data shows that flight AZS3901 took off from Karachi, Pakistan, on 12 Oct 2021 around 05:30 UTC. About five hours later, she was tracked by a receiver in central Ethiopia, which tracked her descent to Harar Meda Airport around 10:45 UTC. The aircraft remained on ground for about two hours, when she left Ethiopia, possibly to Djibouti

4
.

Big thanks to the various people that helped me gather details on this flight. Without their help, making this blog post would not have been possible.

1

https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2021/10/wing-loong-is-over-ethiopia-chinese.html

2

https://russianplanes.net/reginfo/5628

3
Twitter avatar for @Gerjon_
Gerjon | חריון @Gerjon_
The "Fly Sky Airlines" Il-76TD flights from the 🇦🇪UAE to 🇪🇹Ethiopia continue: today, unknown hex 🇰🇬#6010DB and 🇺🇦UR-FSA likely flew to 🇪🇹Harar Meda Military Airport (main Ethiopian Air Force base). 6010DB continued to 🇪🇹Addis Ababa Bole. Both then returned to the 🇦🇪UAE.
Image
Twitter avatar for @Gerjon_
Gerjon | חריון @Gerjon_
⚠️My analysis of Mode-S data of a receiver in the vicinity of 🇪🇹Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, shows that: "Fly Sky Airlines" Il-76s regs. 🇺🇦UR-FSC and 🇰🇬EX-76003 from 🇦🇪UAE both most likely visited 🇪🇹Harar Meda Military Airport in Ethiopia today. FSC visited Bole before returning. https://t.co/DtgN2YbPEH https://t.co/RvuFvhCpMB
5:53 PM ∙ Sep 15, 2021
94Likes115Retweets
4

https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/ra-76807#297fc111

1
Share
Share this post

A second Wing Loong delivery flight to Ethiopia?

gerjon.substack.com
Comments
Top
New
Community

No posts

Ready for more?

© 2023 Gerjon
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great writing