Ethiopia's latest: UAE-made Al Tariq guided bomb systems
In November 2023, I revealed how the UAE had resumed frequent cargo flights to Ethiopia, just like they did during the Tigray War in the summer of 2021. 33 flights were tracked over a period of just over two weeks. Many of these flights went to Ethiopian Air Force Base Harar Meda Military Airport. Tips have now allowed me to identify one of the systems that were shipped during the recent airlift: Al Tariq guided bomb systems.
About the system
Since this blog is generally about aircraft and definitely not about weaponry, the description of the system will be quite generic.
Al Tariq is part of Edge Group, a UAE Government-owned technology group. According to their website, Al Tariq manufactures “combat-proven kit systems that convert unguided aerial weapons into high-precision, long-range munitions extending up to 120km using systems like GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) for automated target recognition, INS (Inertial Navigation System) and IIR (Imaging Infrared)." This Precision-Guided Munition (PGM) is the only product currently sold by Al Tariq.
A brochure (PDF) of the Al Tariq system adds that the system is developed for Mk 81/82/83 warheads, part of the American Mark 80 General Purpose bomb series. airforce-technology.com adds that the Al Tariq system is based on South Africa-based Denel Dynamics’ Umbani-kit.
The video below, published on the manufacturer’s website, provides further details about the system.
About the evidence
The tips mentioned above contain multiple pictures showing Al Tariq PGM containers.
The selection of the pictures can be seen below. The surroundings have been removed by me.
Picture 1 shows one side of an Al Tariq container, with labels confirming the name of the manufacturer, “Al Tariq”, and the presence of a GPS/GNSS receiver.
Picture 2 shows a close-up of the technical specifications of the system, included on the other side of the container. Some of these specifications further confirm that the containers indeed contains Al Tariq PGM systems.
Gross and net weight are 920 and 500 kg, respectively.
Each box is sized 4060x1120x1090 mm, leading to a total volume of 4.96 m3.
The system has a net explosive quantity of 87 kg of Tritonal 80/20, which matches specifications of the Mark 82 general purpose bomb.
The final technical specifications shown are its country of origin and production date: United Arab Emirates and October 2023, respectively.
Picture 3 shows the position of the label in picture 2.
Another picture, not shown here, also shows the aircraft involved. It is one of the aircraft listed in my recent list of flights to Ethiopia. This image brings the story together:
The picture shows multiple containers, identical to the ones shown above.
Image date and time match one specific flight on my earlier list.
Because some of the surroundings are also visible in this picture, I was able to geolocate it. This confirms that it was indeed taken somewhere on the UAE-Ethiopia route.
Given the sensitivity of the topic and potential repercussions for my source, I choose to not publish this picture. To ensure his/her safety, I have also chosen to not publish the date or location of any of the pictures.
Because I do realize that this piece of evidence is an essential part of the burden of proof, I will therefore share this picture and its geolocation with trusted journalists and analysts upon request (via Twitter DM).
Cover picture: Wikimedia Commons flag of Ethiopia overlayed with a screen capture of a video by the Edge Group.
