Niger has moved much of its air force to a new base it is building at the airfield close to the town of Diffa on the Nigerian border, satellite imagery shows.
Airbus Defence and Space imagery from 7 March shows that two Sukhoi Su-25 ground attack jets were at the Diffa airstrip on that date. The Niger Air Force operates two Su-25s that it acquired from Ukraine in 2013. These were previously based at Diori Hamani International Airport outside the capital Niamey, more than 1,100 km to the west.
A Cessna 208B turboprop, two Mi-24 assault helicopters, and one Mi-8/17 transport helicopter were also at Diffa on 7 March. The United States delivered two 208Bs that have been modified for the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) role to Niger in October 2015.
The imagery also showed extensive construction work was under way at the facility, with new parking areas already built for the Su-25 and three hangars under construction.
Another image taken on 28 May shows that the two smaller hangars had been completed by that date. An additional 208B was present on that date and only one Su-25 could be seen, but the number of helicopters remained unchanged.
Fresh markings have also been painted on the runway and the base now has a complete security perimeter and additional vehicle-inspection area at the entrance point.
janes.com
