One of two new Su-30 combat aircraft received by Ethiopia on 16 January. (FDRE Defense Force)

Ethiopia has received new Sukhoi Su-30 ‘Flanker’ fighters and Baykar Bayraktar Akıncı armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The Ethiopian National Defense Force (FDRE Defense Force) reported the arrival of an undisclosed number of Su-30s on 16 January, with the state-owned Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) reporting the arrival of an undisclosed number of Akıncı UAVs on the same day.

“We will continue to be equipped with modern weapons that can defend our airspace from any attack,” Chief of General Staff of the FDRE Defense Force, Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, was quoted as saying in a post published on the force’s official Facebook account. “The FDRE air force has equipped [itself with] the most modern first round Su-30 fighter jets and [Akıncı] strategic unmanned [aircraft].”