Chinese-Made CH-95 Drone Reportedly Seen at Suspected UAE Airbase in Somalia’s Bosaso
A drone matching the Chinese-made CH-95 has reportedly been seen for the first time at the airbase at Bosaso International Airport in Somalia’s Puntland region, according to an analysis of satellite imagery published by Janes on 16 October 2026. Janes says the sighting suggests the type is now operated by the United Arab Emirates. Neither the UAE nor the Puntland or Somali federal authorities have commented, and the identification has not been confirmed.
What the imagery reportedly shows
According to Janes, a Vantor satellite image taken on 6 October shows an uncrewed aircraft with a twin-boom planform, about 7.2 metres long with a wingspan of about 12.5 metres. Official dimensions for the CH-95 have never been released, Janes notes, but these match Vantor imagery of a CH-95 that the Serbian military displayed at Batajnica Air Base in September 2024. Janes adds that no other drone with a matching planform and dimensions is known to be in service.
DefenceMENA has not been able to examine the imagery independently. The analysis identifies a type from its shape and size; it does not establish who owns the aircraft, whether it is armed or what it is used for.
An unacknowledged base
The operator of the Bosaso airbase has never been officially acknowledged. Janes says it is widely assumed to be the UAE because the facility is connected to the base of the Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) to the west of the airport. The PMPF was set up with UAE support in 2010 as a counter-piracy force and has since become a land force fighting the Islamic State group’s local branch in Puntland’s mountains.
Work on the airbase began in November 2022, when a concrete apron connected to the runway and two hangars were built, Janes reports. Four more hangars and personnel facilities, including a mosque and a sports field, were added later.
Claims about Bosaso and Sudan
Bosaso has been the subject of allegations linked to Sudan’s war. In October 2025 Middle East Eye, citing flight-tracking data, satellite imagery and local sources, reported that cargo flights from the UAE were using Bosaso to move supplies on to the Rapid Support Forces. Those claims have not been independently confirmed. The UAE did not respond to Middle East Eye and has previously denied sponsoring the RSF. Janes does not link the CH-95 sighting to Sudan.
Drone warfare is also at the centre of the dispute between Sudan and Ethiopia, which traded accusations at the UN Security Council on 16 October.
The CH-95
The CH-95 is a Chinese-made uncrewed combat aerial vehicle. Serbia’s military has displayed the type publicly, including at the Zastava 2024 event at Batajnica. Its manufacturer has not published full official specifications, and DefenceMENA does not cite performance figures that cannot be sourced. For a wider picture of drone holdings on the continent, see DefenceMENA’s guide to which African countries have military drones.
Sources
- Janes: CH-95 UAV deployed to suspected UAE airbase in Bosaso (16 October 2026)
- Middle East Eye: Inside the UAE’s secret Sudan war operation at Somalia’s Bosaso (31 October 2025)
