Uae Libya War Crimes | UAE Libya Civil War | Game of Drones

The war in Libya has international backers on opposing sides supporting their own interests. In the first conflict where unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are making up the bulk of the air operations, both sides have successfully attacked opposition aircraft. Alan Warnes reports.

Turkey has been propping up the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), recognised by the United Nations as Libya’s Government.

The GNA is trying to stem the advances of Benghazi’s Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Khalifa Haftar and backed by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and supported by the USA.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood factions within GNA. Along with Qatar, he helped the rise of the organisation in Egypt during 2011, before it was crushed.

This saw both Turkey and Qatar ostracised by former Arab allies Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The latter, alongside Egypt, do not want Erdogan, funded by the Qataris, doing the same in Libya.

Ukraine has joined the Turkey and Qatar side and, according to one source, is now a huge source for weapons.

Against a backdrop of unserviceable old helicopters and combat aircraft, both the GNA and LNA have resorted to fighting each other with armed unmanned air vehicles (UAVs).

The Bayraktar TB2, operated by Turkey but purchased by Qatar, is the GNA’s UAV of choice. The drones are thought to have been delivered aboard a ship in May and subsequently split between Misurata and Tripoli-Metiga, with Turkish personnel operating them.

As recently as June 21, the Libyan Address Journal reported that eight GNA pilots went to Turkey to learn how to operate the Bayraktar UAS, although another 12 refused.

The Israeli Orbiter-3 UAS, manufactured by Aeronautics, has also been operated by the GNA, with two of three allegedly delivered to the GNA being shot down at the end of July. The Orbiter-3 can stay airborne for up to seven hours and is used in the intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) missions. The drone was probably supplied by another supporting country.

On the opposite side, the LNA troops are being supported by the Wing Loong II, acquired from China by the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The aircraft has been heavily modified with a Thales data-link system and Israeli optics.

Since April, when Haftar started his march on Tripoli, both the Bayraktar and Wing Loong II have been involved in some significant attacks.

On July 25, several Bayraktars were used to attack and subsequently destroy two Ilyushin Il-76 military transport aircraft operated by Ukraine’s Air Europe airfreight company, at Al Jufra Air Base. A hangar was also destroyed at the base, which was being used as a key staging post for supporters of General Haftar’s LNA. Haftar is also believed to have lost many of his top officers in the attack.