The aircraft are old, white and almost anonymous: four-engined Ilyushin Il-76 freighters with Russian registrations and no airline name on the side. According to a Defense News investigation published on 30 September, they have also flown more than 100 missions for the government of the United Arab Emirates since mid-2025, even though their operator is under US sanctions.
The airline is Aviacon Zitotrans, a Russian cargo carrier sanctioned by the United States, Canada and Ukraine over its support for Russia's war effort and for Russian mercenary operations in Africa. Defense News found its jets shuttling between UAE airbases and destinations across Africa, and to a little-known private airstrip in Pakistan, often vanishing from tracking over the Gulf of Aden.
Kurzinfo
- Operator: Aviacon Zitotrans (Russia), sanctioned by the US, Canada and Ukraine
- Flugzeug: Ilyushin Il-76 freighters incl. RA-76842, RA-76502, RA-76846, RA-76834
- Missionen: More than 100 linked to the UAE government
- Period: Mid-2025 to September 2026
- UAE bases: Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, Sweihan Air Base
- Destinations: Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, Uganda, DR Congo, Nigeria, Pakistan
- Veröffentlicht: 30 September 2026, Defense News
How the Flights Were Found
Defense News reporter Linus Höller analysed a commercial archive of ADS-B and multilateration tracking data covering nearly 9,000 flights since early 2025, then reviewed flights by hand and cross-checked them against leaked company documents, aviation filings, local reporting, ground photographs and satellite imagery. More than 100 missions came out as linked to the UAE government.
The aircraft departed from Al Ain Airport, Abu Dhabi and Sweihan Air Base. Destinations included Harar Meda Air Base and Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, Bosaso in Somalia, Port Sudan, and points in Libya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria. Four of the Il-76s named in the investigation, RA-76842, RA-76502, RA-76846 and RA-76834, are listed by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control as blocked property.
Open-source trackers had spotted some of the flights in real time. On 28 May 2026, OSINT analyst Rich Tedd flagged two sanctioned Il-76s, including Aviacon's RA-76846, leaving Al Ain for what he believed was Ethiopia.
Dark Over the Gulf of Aden
One pattern stood out. The aircraft repeatedly disappeared from transponder coverage over the Gulf of Aden and reappeared later, which analysts told Defense News points to transponders being switched off deliberately rather than gaps in receiver coverage.
The most unusual destination was in Pakistan: Chandana Airstrip, also called Al Habieb Airport, a private strip that does not appear in ICAO or IATA databases or in Pakistan's civil aviation registers. It has previously been linked to falconry trips by members of the UAE's ruling Al Nahyan family.
Both Sides of a War
The investigation lands in the middle of Sudan's civil war. The UAE is widely reported to back the Rapid Support Forces, while Russia supports the Sudanese Armed Forces. Defense News found Aviacon's aircraft flying from Russia and Turkey into Port Sudan, the army's main supply point, while sometimes also operating UAE missions that likely supported the RSF.
Neither the UAE's embassies, its foreign ministry and media office nor Aviacon Zitotrans responded to Defense News' requests for comment. The company's own website lists government and military airlifts among its areas of work. For a freighter that first flew in 1971, the Il-76 is still doing exactly what it was built for: moving heavy cargo to rough airfields, quietly.
Sources: Defense News, US Treasury OFAC, Rich Tedd (AfriMEOSINT) on X, Defence Matters
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