{"id":839003,"date":"2026-11-14T04:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-14T09:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/?p=839003"},"modified":"2026-11-14T04:30:00","modified_gmt":"2026-11-14T09:30:00","slug":"flight-tracking-account-says-uae-linked-il-76-was-loaded-with-drones-at-al-safran-air-base-before-flying-to-ethiopia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/839003","title":{"rendered":"Flight tracking account says UAE linked Il-76 was loaded with drones at Al Safran air base before flying to Ethiopia"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A flight tracking screenshot that AfriMEOSINT posted on X on November 13, 2026, showing the route of Invicta Air Il-76TD TL-ATD from the UAE toward Ethiopia on November 12. Credit: AfriMEOSINT (@AfriMEOSINT) on X.<\/em><\/p>\n

The flight tracking account AfriMEOSINT says a UAE linked Il-76TD cargo plane was loaded with drones at Al Safran air base in the UAE on Thursday and then flew to Ethiopia through Fujairah.<\/p>\n

In a post on Friday the account, which follows military cargo flights around the Red Sea, said the flight was confirmed as part of a drone transfer to Ethiopia. It said the Invicta Air aircraft, registration TL-ATD, first flew from Al Reef air base to Al Safran, where it was loaded, before heading to Ethiopia. It did not say how it confirmed the cargo or where in Ethiopia the plane landed, and it shared tracking screenshots rather than images of the drones.<\/p>\n

The same registration appeared on Thursday in the account’s list of four flights that it described as part of a continuing UAE military cargo airlift to Ethiopia. Earlier this week AfriMEOSINT said satellite images showed at least two UAE linked Il-76 planes parked at Gondar airport in Amhara for the first time, after weeks of runway work there.<\/p>\n

Another account that posts daily war updates, The Horn African Guy, wrote on Friday that cargo planes had delivered heavy weapons, including artillery, rockets and armored vehicles, to Gondar’s airport over five days, and that about 170 military patrol vehicles had entered the region. It also claimed that commanders of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces were present at the army’s North West Command base. Mereja Media could not verify any of these claims.<\/p>\n

The Ethiopian government and the UAE have not commented on the flights, and Mereja Media found no statement from the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority by Friday evening. The Ethiopian army uses drones against Fano forces in Amhara and in Tigray. Mereja Media reported on the Il-76 planes seen at Gondar airport<\/a> and on two Su-35 fighters for Ethiopia in flight trials<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sources<\/h4>\n