Boko Haram: Armed Chinese Made Drone Crashes In Borno

As the brutal Boko Haram insurgency has entered its 7th year in Nigeria,

the relationship between the government and China has deepened. In many

ways it is a match of needs.
The Nigerian military has a pressing need for counter-insurgency (COIN)

equipment, such as drones, MRAP vehicles and smart bombs (many of which

the US has been unwilling to provide the government due to human rights

concerns). China is seeking to be a first tier exporter of such modern

military systems as well as has a massive domestic demand for oil.

The result has been the export of Chinese weapons, fighters, warships and

now it appears armed drones to Nigeria. On January 25, 2015, a photo

appeared on online at Beegeagle's Blog, appearing to show a CH-3 UCAV

which crashed upside down near Dumge village in the Mafa District of Borno

Province.
The two anti-tank missiles on the CH-3′s wings appear to be intact. Borno

is the area where much of the Boko Haram violence, including the massacre

of 2,000 civilians, occurred in 2015. Currently, the Nigerian military is

fighting to hold onto the city of Maiduguri against a Boko Haram

onslaught, so it appears likely that the CH-3 in question was flying

reconnaissance and fire support missions for the Nigerians when it

crashed.
The CH-3 is a medium UAV built by the China Aerospace Science and

Technology Corporation. This 256km per hour, 630kg drone has a wingspan of

about 8 meters, and the combat version can carry a 100kg payload.

Judging by photos of the CH-3 during Chinese testing, the missiles would

likely by 45kg AR-1 anti-tank missiles, which are roughly equivalent to

the American Hellfire missile. The CH-3 is also in Pakistani service as

the “Burraq” UCAV.
Despite damage to the tricycle landing gear and upper forward fuselage,

this CH-3 appears to have crash landed due to mechanical or control

difficulties. This is in line with most other global UAV combat losses to

date. As the CH-3 has a cruise altitude of 5,000m and a flight ceiling of

6,000m, it is unlikely that Boko Haram would have the necessary heavy

anti-aircraft weaponry or training to do so.
Despite this particular CH-3′s inglorious fate, it is a good illustration

that Chinese drones are likely to be flying over Nigeria and many other

insurgencies around the world for time to come.
This article originally appeared on Popular Science.

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