China is driving a surge in military technology across Africa, becoming the continent's top supplier of combat drones.
China’s principal combat systems are CASC’s CH-3 and CH-4 Rainbow drones and Chengdu’s Wing Loong family. Turkey’s Bayraktar TB2, Aksungur and Anka systems are now major competitors. African governments are purchasing them to monitor borders, support counter-insurgency campaigns, and conduct strikes without maintaining expensive manned aircraft fleets.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), 1,959 military drones were acquired by 34 African countries through 234 procurement records. More than half - 1,054 aircraft were acquired between 2020 and 2026. China supplied an estimated 587 drones to 20 African countries. Meanwhile, Turkish exports rose sharply after 2021, selling 291 drone units to 11 countries.
China’s CH-4 Rainbow drones produced by the China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics (CAAA), Wing Loong drones produced by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG), and CH-95 drones are present from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Algeria, as well as in Nigeria, Egypt, and Ethiopia.
DR Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the clearest Central African customer for Chinese combat UAVs. Kinshasa ordered nine Chinese CH‑4 (Caihong‑4) drones for operations against the M23 rebellion in eastern Congo.
In 2023 and 2024, China sold CH-4 Rainbow drones to the DRC, while it sold Norinco Yitian-L surface-to-air defense systems and the Sky Dragon 50 (TL-50) to Rwanda. The Rwandan army reportedly uses these systems against Congolese army drones, including Turkish TB2s.
In 2025, Congolese officials were reportedly negotiating to acquire three Wing Loong II drones to expand their range and payload over mountainous areas such as Masisi and Walikale.
The DRC has also diversified its fleet with Turkish systems, including TAI Anka and Bayraktar TB2 drones, reflecting a multi-supplier approach to the aerial dimension of the war.
Chad
Chad appears to have become the newest Central African operator of Chinese combat drones. Open-source imagery published in August 2026 showed at least four Chinese CH‑4s at Abéché Air Base near the Sudanese border, although N’Djamena has not formally announced the acquisition.
Analysts say the aircraft are likely intended for border surveillance, reconnaissance over Darfur and possible strikes against armed groups, giving Chad enhanced reach along a volatile frontier linked to Sudan’s war, refugee flows and arms trafficking.
Chad already operates Turkish Anka and other UAVs, but the CH‑4 sighting marks a notable expansion of Chinese unmanned strike capacity in the Sahel–Central Africa interface.
Equatorial Guinea
According to Janes, Equatorial Guinea acquired UAVs through the state-owned China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC) in 2025 and trained approximately 30 personnel, completing about 3,177 flight-training hours, including live-fire exercises.
Angola
In 2025, the Angolan government authorization approved roughly $36 million in military equipment from the CATIC, but the decree did not specify drones.
Meanwhile, Angola signed a defense contract worth over $ 93 million with Turkish Aerospace (TAI) via state firm SIMPORTEX to procure the Aksungur combat drone, following diplomatic requests initiated by President João Lourenço in 2021. The procurement provides Angola with a cost-effective platform for border security and counter-terrorism. Only 8 Aksungurs have been produced so far, joining TAI’s wider regional exports, including ten Anka-S units to Algeria and two to Chad.
