German Drones in Ethiopia

Ethiopia's last acquisition of (unmanned) aircraft before the commencement of the Tigray War in November 2020 are not the Wing Loong IIs UCAVs the country is so often reported to have deployed during the early stages of the conflict. Instead, the last (unmanned) aircraft it acquired were three German Trinity F9 eVTOL UAVs received as a gift by the German government in October 2020. [1] Although delivered to Ethiopia to help the Ministry of Agriculture in areas of natural resources protection and humanitarian responses, it cannot be ruled that these UAVs are currently being used in the Tigray War.

 

While the Trinity F9 eVTOL's maximum take-off weight of 4.5kg prevents it from carrying any type of armament or even a FLIR EO/IR turret, the available camera options of the Trinity F9 eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) make it an ideal tool for collecting geological information and land surface imagery data from the air. [2] These feats also make the F9 UAS well-suited for imaging mountainous terrain ahead of military offensives, allowing Ethiopian government forces to establish a better picture of the terrain they're about to attack.

Of course, a possible military end use was likely one of the last things the German government had envisioned when it donated three Trinity F9s amounting to 84.000 Euros to Ethiopia in October 2020. The F9 can fly for up to 90 minutes carrying varying sensors and capture photography of 7 hectares of land at a time. The command and control range is guaranteed for at least 5km away from the operator. [2] While this range is plentiful for its intended civilian purposes in the agriculture, forestry and mining sectors, it is somewhat limited when used for mapping the depths of areas currently under enemy control.

 

Presumably prompted by a lack of more suitable drone types for use during the early stages of the Tigray War, the Ethiopian Air Force would go on to receive several 'civilian drone types' from other government branches that had originally been acquired civilian purposes in mind. Three of these, comprising the ZT-3V, HW-V230 and DJI Mavic 2, were taken over from the Ethiopian Federal Police (EPF). [3] Interestingly, rather than quietly accepting the systems into service, the ENDF instead presented the drones in front of a news crew as indigenously-designed UAVs rather than systems previously acquired from China. [4]

 

Faced with an infantry-centered force that excels in hit-and-run tactics and laying ambushes, the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) has encountered great difficulties in fighting Tigray forces in the mountainous terrain of northern Ethiopia. The designer and producer of the Trinity F9, Quantum Systems, mostly markets its products to the civilian market, although the Dutch Army is currently trialling the Trinity F90+ UAS (the successor to the Trinity F9) for use with its pathfinder units.

Currently engaged in a conflict where UAVs play a decisive role, it is not unthinkable that Ethiopia's Trinity F9 eVTOLs are now being used for military roles such as mapping terrain ahead of military offensives. Given their short range and endurance, their effectiveness in this role would likely be limited however. Still, their possible use serves as a reminder that even commercial models can be turned into tools of war.