Burkina Faso Air Force
The Burkina Faso Air Force began in 1964 as a French-assisted transport and liaison flight of Upper Volta, fought its only interstate war in December 1985 with a single MiG-17 against Mali, and since 2022 has been rebuilt by the military government around Turkish TB2 and Akinci drones for a counter-insurgency in which human rights groups have documented civilian deaths from its strikes.
The Burkina Faso Air Force story: a transport flight for Upper Volta, a lone MiG-17 in the Agacher war and Turkish drones
1960–1983: a transport flight for Upper Volta
Upper Volta became independent on 5 August 1960, and its armed forces were created by law the same month on the model of the colonial army. Flying came later and modestly. Tom Cooper’s history for the Air Combat Information Group dates the Escadrille de Haute-Volta to 1964, set up with French help as a transport and liaison service; the English Wikipedia article on the armed forces gives 25 November 1965 for the integration of the air arm into the forces. The first fleet was what a French-advised African state of the 1960s could afford: two or three Douglas C-47s, three MH.1521 Broussards and a pair of Alouette III helicopters, later joined by Nord 262 and HS 748 transports and Soviet Mi-4s. After the first border clash with Mali in late 1974 the flight grew, Cooper writes, into an air force in its own right and soon after into an independent branch of the armed forces.
1983–1985: Sankara, Libya and the borrowed MiGs
Captain Thomas Sankara took power on 4 August 1983 and a year later renamed the country Burkina Faso. His government’s ties to Libya brought the air force its first jets, after a fashion. In mid-1984, according to Wikipedia and Cooper, eight MiG-21bis fighters and two MiG-21UM trainers arrived from Libya; Wikipedia says they were flown by Libya on loan and removed in 1985, and Cooper that they were never transferred because Burkina had no one to maintain them. The aircraft that did belong to Burkina was a single MiG-17F, of unknown origin, for which Cooper counts only two qualified pilots. Four ex-Soviet Mi-4 helicopters came in 1985. The episode shows the pattern of the force’s first half century: combat types appeared as political gifts, and disappeared when the politics or the maintenance ran out.
December 1985: the Agacher Strip war
The Agacher Strip, a border area claimed by both Burkina Faso and Mali, had already caused fighting in 1974. Fighting resumed at dawn on 25 December 1985. Mali had the stronger air force: its MiG-21s, flying from Gao, Mopti and Ségou, bombed Djibo, Ouahigouya and other towns, and Cooper writes that the raid on the market at Ouahigouya, at least 80 km inside Burkina, caused most of Burkina’s losses. The Burkinabé MiG-17 struck Sikasso on 26 December, killing four people according to Wikipedia’s sources, and Burkina claimed 15 Malian soldiers killed at Zégoua; no air-to-air combat took place. Casualty figures diverge widely: Burkina officially counted 48 dead, Mali 11, and other estimates run from 59 to about 300 in total. A ceasefire brokered through the West African ANAD pact took effect on 30 December, and on 22 December 1986 a chamber of the International Court of Justice divided the disputed area between the two states.
1986–2016: a small air force between wars
After the war the air force went back to being small. Six ex-Philippine SF.260WP Warrior armed trainers bought through Belgium in 1986, and four more new from Italy, gave it a light strike capability; Cooper photographed a handful of MiG-17Fs and a non-flying MiG-21bis in the early 1990s, a jet episode so obscure that he asked readers for information. An Indonesian-built NC235 transport arrived in 2007 and spent years grounded. Combat capability came only with two Mi-35 attack helicopters from Russia in 2005 and three Embraer A-29B Super Tucanos from Brazil in September 2011, flown by the Escadrille de Chasse at Ouagadougou. defenceWeb’s country profile describes a force that until then had been incapable of combat, numbering about 600 people. Bases were the two cities that matter: Base Aérienne 511 at Ouagadougou and Base Aérienne 210 at Bobo-Dioulasso.
2017–2023: insurgency, coups and the first drones
The jihadist insurgency that spread into Burkina from Mali in the mid-2010s changed the air force’s purpose. A 2018–2022 military programming law approved in 2017, worth FCFA 725 billion, paid for two armed Mi-171Sh helicopters from Russia, an AW139, a Diamond DA42 surveillance aircraft, the overhaul of two stored Mi-17s in Prague and an Airbus C295W, delivered on 16 November 2021; Taiwan donated two UH-1H Hueys in 2017. Two coups followed in 2022, on 23 January and 30 September, the second bringing Captain Ibrahim Traoré to power. In January 2023 his government asked French forces to leave within a month. Five Bayraktar TB2 drones had arrived from Turkey from April 2022. Human Rights Watch documented three TB2 strikes in 2023 in which it said at least 60 civilians were killed, at Bouro, Bidi and Boulkessi in Mali; state television said all three hit Islamist fighters.
2024–2026: Akinci, air-ground strikes and what cannot be checked
On 8 April 2024 Traoré handed over twelve combat drones, TB2s and at least two Akinci, the heavier Turkish type, paid for, AIB reported, partly by citizens’ contributions. Since then the state news agency has reported a steady run of air and air-ground strikes, from Djibo to the Tapoa, always attributed to security sources and never independently verified; Human Rights Watch’s and Amnesty’s annual reports for 2024 and 2025 did not document specific air strikes. The force now trains its own forward air controllers and, since 2026, its own mechanics at Bobo-Dioulasso; its chief says it had always relied on foreign partners for that. What remains unclear is the fleet itself. FlightGlobal’s 2025 count and defenceWeb’s lists disagree on almost every helicopter type, the number of drones has never been published, and the government has said little about losses.
The Burkina Faso Air Force in numbers
Service
- Native name
- Armée de l’Air du Burkina FasoThe ministry of defence site lists the service as “Armée de l’Air” and AIB writes “Armée de l’Air Burkinabè”. Older sources (defenceWeb, Cooper) use Force Aérienne du Burkina Faso (FABF). English Wikipedia has no separate article: “Burkina Faso Air Force” redirects to Burkina Faso Armed Forces
- Founded
- 1964As the Escadrille de Haute-Volta, a French-assisted transport and liaison flight, per Cooper (ACIG). Wikipedia gives 25 November 1965 for the integration of the air arm into the armed forces
- Part of
- Burkina Faso Armed ForcesUnder the Chief of the General Staff of the armed forces, General Moussa Diallo (June 2026), and the Ministry of War and Patriotic Defence
- Headquarters
- OuagadougouBase Aérienne 511 at Ouagadougou is home to the transport squadron (Escadron de Transport 511) and the Super Tucano squadron; the ministry site does not publish a headquarters address
- Chief of Staff
- Col. Christian Brahima OuattaraNamed in that post by AIB on 19 June 2026; appointment date not found
- Minister
- Gen. Célestin SimporéMinister of War and Patriotic Defence; formerly Chief of the General Staff (April 2024)
Strength
- Personnel
- About 600defenceWeb’s country profile (first published 2013, updated November 2025); no official figure found
- Combat aircraft
-
- A-29B Super Tucano — 3 delivered September 2011
FlightGlobal counts three EMB-314s in 2025
- Armed drones
-
- Bayraktar TB2 — 5 delivered from April 2022, more in April 2024
- Bayraktar Akinci — at least 2 (2024)
Twelve TB2 and Akinci drones were handed over on 8 April 2024; total numbers have not been published. One TB2 crashed near Tenkodogo on 21 June 2023
- Helicopters
-
- Mi-24/Mi-35 — 5 (FlightGlobal)
- Mi-8/Mi-171 — 3, 2 on order (FlightGlobal)
- H125M/AS350 — 9 (FlightGlobal)
- Mi-26 — 1 (FlightGlobal)
- UH-1H — 1 (FlightGlobal)
defenceWeb lists different numbers: 2 Mi-35, 2 Mi-24P, 2 Mi-17 and 2 Mi-171Sh, 2 UH-1H, an AW139 and a single AS350. Serviceability is unknown
- Transport and surveillance
-
- C295W — 1 (2021)
- King Air 200 — 1
- DA42 — 1
- DA62 — 1
FlightGlobal 2025
- Trainers
-
- SF.260 — 1
- EMB-312 Tucano — 4 (FlightGlobal only)
The EMB-312 appears only in FlightGlobal; Wikipedia does not list Burkina Faso as an operator
- Defence programme
- FCFA 725 billion (2018–2022)Military programming law approved by parliament in 2017, about US$1.2 billion, for the whole armed forces
Infrastructure
- Air bases
-
- Base Aérienne 511, Ouagadougou — transport, Super Tucanos
- Base Aérienne 210, Bobo-Dioulasso — training
Base numbers as given by defenceWeb and AIB
- Drone base
- South of OuagadougoudefenceWeb reported Akinci and TB2 drones at a new UAV base south of the capital in 2024
- Training
- Bobo-DioulassoThe École Militaire des Technologies Aéronautiques graduated its first 53 mechanics in June 2026; tactical air controllers (GATA) are trained at BA 210
- Ground-based air defence
- Sky Dragon 30Chinese Norinco system revealed on 1 September 2026 and reported by defenceWeb as operated by the ground forces
- Alliances
- Alliance of Sahel States (AES)With Mali and Niger; a unified force headquartered in Niamey was launched in December 2025. Burkina Faso left ECOWAS in January 2025
How the Burkina Faso Air Force is organised
A small service of the Burkina Faso Armed Forces, about 600 strong according to defenceWeb, with two bases: Base Aérienne 511 at Ouagadougou and Base Aérienne 210 at Bobo-Dioulasso. Its striking power since 2022 is Turkish drones — TB2s and at least two Akincis — beside three A-29B Super Tucanos and Mi-24/35 gunships; the number of drones has never been published. FlightGlobal and defenceWeb disagree on almost every helicopter type, and serviceability is unknown.
Burkina Faso Air Force
One of the services of the Burkina Faso Armed Forces, about 600 strong according to defenceWeb, under the Ministry of War and Patriotic Defence. The state news agency AIB named Colonel Christian Brahima Ouattara as Chief of Staff of the Air Force in June 2026; the date of his appointment was not found. The Chief of the General Staff is General Moussa Diallo and the minister General Célestin Simporé.
Combat Squadron
Three A-29B Super Tucanos delivered from Brazil in September 2011, the force’s only fixed-wing combat type; English Wikipedia places them with the squadron at Ouagadougou. At the UN General Assembly in September 2023 a minister said aircraft from a Brazilian contract were blocked by Belgian, American and Canadian export decisions, without naming the type.
TB2 and Akinci drones
Five Bayraktar TB2s arrived from Turkey from April 2022, and on 8 April 2024 Captain Ibrahim Traoré handed over twelve TB2 and Akinci drones, at least two of them Akincis; total numbers have not been published. Human Rights Watch documented three TB2 strikes in 2023 in which it said at least 60 civilians were killed; the state broadcaster said all three hit Islamist fighters. Later strike reports come from AIB on the word of security sources and have not been independently verified.
Attack and transport helicopters
FlightGlobal counts five Mi-24/35s, three Mi-8/171s with two on order, nine H125M/AS350s, a Mi-26 and a UH-1H in 2025; defenceWeb lists two Mi-35s, two Mi-24Ps, two Mi-17s, two armed Mi-171Sh, two UH-1Hs donated by Taiwan, an AW139 and a single AS350. The two Mi-35s of 2005 were the force’s first real combat capability; serviceability is unknown.
Transport Squadron 511
Operates the C295W XT-MBH, ordered under the 2018–2022 military programming law and delivered on 16 November 2021. FlightGlobal also lists a King Air 200 and DA42 and DA62 surveillance aircraft in 2025, whose units are not published.
Training centre and aeronautical technology school
At Base Aérienne 210 the air force’s instruction and training centre graduated its fourth course of 36 tactical air controllers on 11 September 2025, and the École Militaire des Technologies Aéronautiques passed out its first 53 aircraft mechanics on 19 June 2026; the air force chief said it had always relied on foreign partners for such training. FlightGlobal lists an SF.260 and four EMB-312 Tucanos, the Tucanos unconfirmed elsewhere.
What the Burkina Faso Air Force flies today
Every type on charge, linked to its Book of Beasts page where one exists. Counts are aircraft on the books, not aircraft available on a given day.
| Type | Role | In service | Since | Units | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Embraer A-29B (EMB-314) Super TucanoIn service | Light attack | 3 | 2011 | Three delivered in September 2011; FlightGlobal still counts three in 2025. | ||
| Baykar Bayraktar TB2In service | Armed drone | 2022 | Five delivered from April 2022 (defenceWeb, Military Africa); one destroyed in a crash in 2023; more delivered with the twelve drones handed over on 8 April 2024. | |||
| Baykar Bayraktar AkinciIn service | Heavy armed drone | 2 | 2024 | At least two; total not published. | ||
| Mil Mi-35 and Mi-24PIn service | Attack helicopter | 5 | 2005 | FlightGlobal counts five Mi-24/35 in 2025; defenceWeb lists two Mi-35 (2005) and two Mi-24P, i.e. four. | ||
| Mil Mi-17 and Mi-171ShIn service | Transport and armed helicopter | 3 | 2013 | FlightGlobal counts three Mi-8/171 and two on order in 2025. defenceWeb lists two Mi-17s and two armed Mi-171Sh ordered in August 2017. | ||
| Mil Mi-26In service | Heavy-lift helicopter | 1 | One, FlightGlobal 2025 only. | |||
| Airbus Helicopters H125M / AS350 EcureuilIn service | Light utility helicopter | 9 | FlightGlobal counts nine in 2025; defenceWeb lists a single AS350. The difference was not resolved. | |||
| Bell UH-1H IroquoisIn service | Utility helicopter | 1 | 2017 | Two donated by Taiwan in June 2017 (defenceWeb); FlightGlobal counts one in 2025. | ||
| Leonardo AW139In service | Utility helicopter | 1 | 2016 | One delivered in 2016; not listed by FlightGlobal in 2025. | ||
| Airbus C295WIn service | Tactical transport | 1 | 2021 | One. | ||
| Beechcraft King Air 200In service | Light transport | 1 | One. | |||
| Diamond DA42 MPP and DA62In service | Surveillance aircraft | 2 | 2016 | One of each per FlightGlobal 2025; the DA42 was received in 2016. | ||
| SIAI-Marchetti SF.260WP WarriorIn service | Armed trainer | 1 | 1986 | One in 2025 (FlightGlobal). Ten acquired: six ex-Philippine aircraft through Belgium in 1986 and four new from Italy. | ||
| Embraer EMB-312 TucanoIn service | Trainer | 4 | Four per FlightGlobal 2025 only; Wikipedia does not list Burkina Faso as an EMB-312 operator. |
On order
| Type | Ordered | First delivery | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mil Mi-8/Mi-171On order | 2 | Two on order per FlightGlobal’s World Air Forces 2025; no contract or delivery date found. | ||
| Aircraft from a Brazilian contractOn order | At the UN General Assembly on 23 September 2023 Minister of State Bassolma Bazié said the contract was blocked by Belgium (weapons licence), the United States (navigation, firing system and cameras) and Canada (engine).
MoreWhether it was delivered later was not found. |
Every type the Burkina Faso Air Force has retired
16 types, from the Douglas C-47 Skytrain to the Hawker Siddeley HS 748. Peak figures are airframes taken on charge over the whole service life, not fleet strength on any one date.
| Type | Role | Peak | Served | Replaced by | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawker Siddeley HS 748 | Transport | 2 | NC235 | Two (Wikipedia); one (defenceWeb 2013). | ||
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21bis and MiG-21UM (Libyan) | Fighter | 10 | 1984–1985 | Eight MiG-21bis and two MiG-21UM. | ||
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17F | Fighter-bomber | 1 | 1985– | One in 1985 (Cooper, Wikipedia); Cooper writes of “a handful” seen in the early 1990s. | ||
| Douglas C-47 Skytrain | Transport | 3 | 1964– | Two (Wikipedia) or three (Cooper). | ||
| Max Holste MH.1521M Broussard | Liaison | 3 | 1964– | Three. | ||
| Aérospatiale SA.316B Alouette III | Light helicopter | 2 | Two; one crashed at Kouni on 14 January 1986. defenceWeb still listed one in 2013. | |||
| Nord 262 Frégate | Transport | 2 | Two; defenceWeb listed one until 2021. | |||
| Mil Mi-4 | Transport helicopter | 4 | 1985– | Four (Wikipedia) or at least two (Cooper). | ||
| IPTN NC235-220 | Transport | 1 | 2007– | One. | ||
| Aérospatiale SA 365N Dauphin | Utility helicopter | 2 | Two. | |||
| Boeing 727-200 | VIP transport | 1 | One. | |||
| Aero Commander 500B | Light transport | 1 | One. | |||
| Cessna 172 and Cessna 337 | Liaison | 2 | One of each (defenceWeb 2013). | |||
| Humbert Tetras | Ultralight surveillance aircraft | 3 | 2012– | Three donated by France in 2012 (defenceWeb); Wikipedia mentions one more by January 2021. | ||
| Xenon gyroplane | Autogyro | 2 | 2009– | Two bought in 2009. | ||
| Air Tractor AT-802 | Crop sprayer | 1 | One. |
Where the Burkina Faso Air Force flies from
Black pins are active bases. Both air force bases share their runways with civil airports: Base Aérienne 511 at Ouagadougou, home of the transport squadron and the Super Tucanos as published, and Base Aérienne 210 at Bobo-Dioulasso, the training base. In the Agacher war of 1985 they were the only two airfields the force had. The drone base defenceWeb reported south of the capital in 2024 is not listed, as its location has not been published. Coordinates are the ASECNA AIP aerodrome reference points.
| Base | ICAO | Status | Runway | Units and aircraft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobo-DioulassoBase Aérienne 210Houet Province, Bobo-Dioulasso | DFOO | Active | 06/243,300 mbituminous concrete |
|
| OuagadougouBase Aérienne 511Kadiogo Province, Ouagadougou | DFFD | Active | 04/223,014 mbituminous concrete |
|
No air base matches that search.
Who is stationed where in the Burkina Faso Air Force
Units by base, current units first. Escadron de Transport 511 shares its number with Base Aérienne 511, and the Escadrille de Chasse with its Super Tucanos is the only combat unit named in the sources. The American surveillance flights reported from Ouagadougou are listed and marked as not Burkinabé, and the MiG-17F and SF.260 elements as former.
- Escadron de Transport 511 (Transport Squadron 511)Transport squadron · active
- Airbus C295W
- Escadrille de Chasse (Combat Squadron)Light attack squadron · active
- Embraer A-29B Super Tucano
- MiG-17F element (historic)1985–
- Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17F
- United States military surveillance flights (reported)
- Small unarmed turboprops
- Air force instruction and training centreTraining centre (tactical air controllers) · active
- École Militaire des Technologies Aéronautiques (EMTA)Aircraft maintenance school · active
- SF.260 armed trainers (historic)
- SIAI-Marchetti SF.260WP Warrior
No unit matches that search.
Burkina Faso Air Force milestones, 1914 to today
5 August: Upper Volta becomes independent; its armed forces are created by law the same month.
The Escadrille de Haute-Volta is set up with French help as a transport and liaison flight (Cooper). Wikipedia dates the integration of the air arm into the armed forces to 25 November 1965.
25 November: the first border war with Mali over the Agacher Strip; Cooper records no significant air operations. Afterwards the flight grows into a separate air force.
4 August: Upper Volta is renamed Burkina Faso. In mid-1984 eight Libyan MiG-21bis and two MiG-21UM arrive, flown and kept by Libya.
25–30 December: the Agacher Strip war. Malian MiG-21s bomb Djibo and Ouahigouya; Burkina’s single MiG-17F strikes Sikasso on 26 December. ANAD ceasefire on 30 December.
14 January: an Alouette III crashes at Kouni while supervising the ceasefire. Six ex-Philippine SF.260WPs are bought. 22 December: the International Court of Justice divides the Agacher area.
Two Mi-35 attack helicopters arrive from Russia, the first real combat capability.
September: three Embraer A-29B Super Tucanos are delivered from Brazil.
June: Taiwan donates two UH-1H helicopters. Parliament approves the 2018–2022 military programming law of FCFA 725 billion; two Mi-171Sh are ordered in August.
15 March: two stored Mi-17s are flown to Prague for overhaul. December: one Airbus C295W is ordered.
16 November: the C295W is delivered to Escadron de Transport 511 at Ouagadougou.
23 January: Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba seizes power; 30 September: Captain Ibrahim Traoré replaces him. The first Bayraktar TB2 drones arrive from April.
23 January: the government asks French forces to leave within a month. 21 June: a combat drone crashes near Tenkodogo. 3 August and 21 September: TB2 strikes at Bouro and Bidi that Human Rights Watch says killed civilians.
8 April: Traoré hands over twelve TB2 and Akinci combat drones; the Akinci era begins.
January: Burkina Faso leaves ECOWAS. 11 September: the fourth course of tactical air controllers graduates at Base Aérienne 210, Bobo-Dioulasso. December: the Alliance of Sahel States launches a unified force.
19 June: the first 53 locally trained aircraft mechanics graduate at Bobo-Dioulasso. 1 September: a Chinese Sky Dragon 30 air defence system is revealed.
Every war the Burkina Faso Air Force has fought
Sorties and losses where the record gives them, and an honest blank where it does not.
- First Agacher Strip border war 1974–1975 No significant air operations recorded
- Agacher Strip War 1985 Its single MiG-17F flew strikes on Sikasso and Zégoua and was scrambled against Malian raids; Mali held air superiority
- Counter-insurgency against Islamist armed groups 2016–present Air strikes, armed reconnaissance and close air support with Super Tucanos, Mi-35 and Mi-171Sh helicopters and, since 2022, TB2 and Akinci drones; transport and casualty evacuation
Who built the Burkina Faso Air Force fleet
Every company behind the aircraft on this page has its own page: the story, every type it built, the numbers and the other air forces that fly them.
Current fleet and orders
Mil, Baykar, Embraer, Airbus, Airbus Helicopters, Beechcraft, Bell, Diamond Aircraft, Leonardo, SIAI-Marchetti
Former fleet
Aérospatiale, Mikoyan, Aero Commander, Air Tractor, Boeing, Cessna, Douglas, Hawker Siddeley, Humbert Aviation, IPTN, Max Holste, Nord Aviation
Everything people ask about the Burkina Faso Air Force
What is the Burkina Faso Air Force called in French?
What aircraft does the Burkina Faso Air Force fly?
Does Burkina Faso have fighter jets?
How many drones does Burkina Faso have?
What happened in the Agacher Strip war?
Have Burkina Faso’s drone strikes killed civilians?
When was the Burkina Faso Air Force founded?
Who commands the Burkina Faso Air Force?
Where are Burkina Faso’s air bases?
Why does the Burkina Faso Air Force buy Turkish and Russian equipment?
Read the aircraft the Burkina Faso Air Force flew
Every type with a page in the Book of Beasts, in service first, then by the year it left the fleet.
Every fact, checked
- Tom Cooper, ACIG: Burkina Faso and Mali, Agacher Strip War, 1985 (31 July 2004)Escadrille de Haute-Volta 1964; early fleet; MiG-17F with two pilots; Libyan MiG-21s; SF.260WPs; 1974 and 1985 wars.
- Tom Cooper and Jan Mikes, ACIG: African MiGs, Part 1 (2003)MiG-17Fs in the early 1990s; MiG-21bis at Ouagadougou in 1993.
- International Court of Justice: Frontier Dispute (Burkina Faso/Republic of Mali)Special agreement 14 October 1983; provisional measures 10 January 1986; judgment 22 December 1986.
- defenceWeb: Burkina Faso (African militaries profile, 2013, updated 19 November 2025)About 600 air force personnel; Super Tucanos September 2011; legacy fleet list.
- defenceWeb: Burkina Faso to get new C295 (12 December 2019)C295W order; 2018–2022 programming law FCFA 725 billion; acquisitions 2005–2018.
- defenceWeb: Burkinabe Mi-17s returning to service (10 January 2020)Mi-17 overhaul at LOM Praha; Mi-171Sh order; Mi-24P; AW139; DA42; UH-1H.
- defenceWeb: Airbus delivers C295W to Burkina Faso (17 November 2021)Delivery 16 November 2021, XT-MBH, Escadron de Transport 511, BA 511 Ouagadougou; fleet list.
- FlightGlobal: World Air Forces 2025Burkina Faso fleet counts and orders.
- Military Africa: Burkina Faso’s Akinci drones breaks cover (Ekene Lionel, 9 April 2024)Two Akinci; five TB2 delivered April–May 2022; TB2 crash near Tenkodogo; munitions.
- defenceWeb: Burkina Faso acquires more military vehicles and UAVs (9 May 2024)At least two Akinci and three TB2 at a new drone base south of Ouagadougou; serial S3; strike video of 29 April 2024.
- SavunmaSanayiST: Burkina Faso’da AKINCI TİHA dönemi başladı (8 April 2024)Akinci induction ceremony; munitions.
- Oryx: An international export success: global demand for Bayraktar dronesBurkina Faso Air Force listed as TB2 operator from 2022.
- defenceWeb (The Conversation), Brendon J. Cannon: Africa’s drone wars are growing (30 December 2025)2023 crash destroyed one of five TB2s.
- Human Rights Watch: Burkina Faso: Drone Strikes on Civilians Apparent War Crimes (25 January 2024)Bouro 3 August 2023, Bidi 21 September 2023, Boulkessi (Mali) 18 November 2023; RTB response.
- Human Rights Watch: World Report 2025, Burkina FasoCovers 2024; no specific air strikes documented.
- Human Rights Watch: World Report 2026, Burkina FasoCovers 2025; military government of Ibrahim Traoré; ECOWAS exit January 2025; no specific air strikes documented.
- Amnesty International: Burkina Faso annual report (2025)No specific air strikes documented.
- Ministère de la Guerre et de la Défense Patriotique (official site)Minister General Célestin Simporé; service listed as Armée de l’Air.
- defenceWeb: Burkina Faso reveals new Sky Dragon air defence system (17 September 2026)Sky Dragon 30 revealed 1 September 2026; Minister Simporé.
- defenceWeb: AES seeks to strengthen counterterrorism efforts through Unified Force (6 May 2026)Unified force launched December 2025, headquartered in Niamey.
- AIB: Le général Gilbert Ouédraogo nommé chef d’Etat-major général des Armées (6 October 2021)Colonel Souleymane Ouédraogo named chief of staff of the air force.
- AIB: Le président Damiba nomme de nouveaux responsables militaires (24 February 2022)Colonel Vincent de Paul Sidinson Ouédraogo named chief of staff of the air force.
- AIB: L’armée présente un échantillon de ses vecteurs aériens (23 March 2023)Air force presents newly acquired armament.
- AIB: l’armée ouvre une enquête après le crash d’un drone de combat (22 June 2023)Combat drone crash near Tenkodogo, 21 June 2023.
- AIB: Le Burkina engage l’ONU à lever le blocage pour l’importation de vecteurs aériens (25 September 2023)Bassolma Bazié at the UN on blocked parts for a Brazilian aircraft contract.
- AIB: Vecteurs aériens burkinabè et maliens prennent en sandwich des terroristes (21 December 2023)Joint Burkinabè–Malian air strikes on 20 December 2023, per security sources.
- AIB: Le président Traoré réceptionne des nouveaux drones efficaces (8 April 2024)Twelve TB2 and Akinci drones handed over; quotes from Traoré and Coulibaly.
- AIB: Bassolma Bazié rend hommage à l’armée de l’air (25 September 2024)Visit to Ouagadougou Air Base; defence minister Kassoum Coulibaly.
- AIB: 36 nouveaux guideurs aériens prêts à servir la nation (12 September 2025)Fourth GATA course at Base Aérienne 210, Bobo-Dioulasso.
- AIB: Des manipulateurs de drones kamikaze et des chefs terroristes tués (8 June 2026)Air strikes May–June 2026 as reported by the armed forces.
- AIB: Fin de formation pour 53 élèves sous-officiers mécaniciens de l’armée de l’air (19 June 2026)EMTA Bobo-Dioulasso; Colonel Christian Brahima Ouattara, chief of staff of the air force; General Moussa Diallo, CEMGA.
- AIB: Djibo et Kiembara, théâtres de deux offensives aériennes (30 August 2026)Air-ground offensives in August 2026, per security sources.
- AIP ASECNA, Burkina Faso AD 2 DFFD Ouagadougou (valid from 14 May 2026)ASECNA eAIP; reference point, elevation (316 m / 1,038 ft), runway 04/22 3,014 x 45 m; civil and military traffic; military apron; operator SAFA.
- AIP ASECNA, Burkina Faso AD 2 DFOO Bobo-Dioulasso (valid from 9 July 2026)ASECNA eAIP; reference point, elevation (461 m / 1,512 ft), runway 06/24 3,300 x 45 m; operator SAFA.
Figures verified 2026-10-01. Order of Battle pages are regenerated from a single dataset; if a number here disagrees with a Book of Beasts page, this page is the more recent of the two.
Photographs: Photo: USAFRICOM from Stuttgart, Germany / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) · Photo: Matti Blume / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Bayhaluk / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Cecilio M. Ricardo Jr., U.S. Air Force / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Don Ramey Logan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Olivier Cabaret from Paris, France / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) · Photo: Md Shaifuzzaman Ayon / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Ronnie Robertson / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: Sir James / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0) · Photo: Carlos E. Perez S.L / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: SDASM Archives / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Landolso / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · Photo: Alan Wilson / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: Alan Wilson from Peterborough, Cambs, UK / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: Daniel Hernández / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: ZLEA / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0) · Photo: Acroterion / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Huhu Uet / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0) · Photo: André Gerwing / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)