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The flight tracker, known as Gerjon, has found 28 flights which need explaining. The flights appear to be heading to the Central African Republic - where the notorious Wagner Group are active, accused of a series of atrocities. Wagner Group mercenaries have also been reported to be supplying the Sudan warlord Hemetti via Chad.
In May and June 2023, there has been a large and uncommon amount of Ilyushin Il-76TD cargo flights from the UAE to Entebbe. Most of these flights continue to an unknown destination northwest of Entebbe. After another quick stop at Entebbe on the same day, they return to the UAE. Between 16 May and 30 Jun 2023, a total of 28 flights have been identified, peaking at 4 flights per day.
In this blog post, I will quantify the flights I have managed to identify and provide further information about the aircraft involved.
Participating aircraft
The following eight aircraft are currently known to participate in the airlift:
1. “Zetavia” Ilyushin Il-76TD UR-ZAR, Mode-S 508059
2. “Sapsan Airline” Ilyushin Il-76TD EX-76005, Mode-S 6010EC or 6010F6
3. “Sapsan Airline” Ilyushin Il-76TD EX-76008, Mode-S 6010EC or 6010F6
4. “New Way Cargo Airlines” Ilyushin Il-76TD EX-76010, Mode-S 60111F
5. “Fly Sky Airlines” Ilyushin Il-76TD EX-76006, Mode-S 6010E8
6. “Fly Sky Airlines” Ilyushin Il-76TD UR-FSA, Mode-S 508359
7. “Fly Sky Airlines” Ilyushin Il-76TD UR-FSC, Mode-S 5083E5
8. “Fly Sky Airlines” Ilyushin Il-76TD UR-FSE, Mode-S 5083A1
Four of these aircraft are registered in Ukraine (UR-). The other half is registered in Kyrgyzstan (EX-).
I have previously featured the four Fly Sky Airlines flights in my list of around 120 flights from the UAE supporting the war in Ethiopia in 2021.
LADD, full ADS-B and MLAT
Some of the aircraft (UR-ZAR, EX-76005, EX-76008, EX-76010) use full ADS-B and can be tracked easily. Some others (all Fly Sky aircraft: UR-FSA, UR-FSC, UR-FSE, EX-76006) only use MLAT and are therefore more difficult to track. The differences between full ADS-B and MLAT tracking are explained in the blog post below. In short: Aircraft using MLAT are much more difficult to track because multiple ground receivers need to receive their signal at the same time. Because of this, little route information is available for MLAT aircraft.
GERJON
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10 OCTOBER 2021
On 07 Oct 2021, I reported identification a total of 45 flights from the United Arab Emirates to Ethiopia. This article is part two of a series of two articles about this find. The first[1] article, which was published yesterday, is about the shady history of the aircraft and their current operator. This second article goes deeper into the technical sid…
Read full story
Known positions and patterns for the MLAT aircraft align exactly with ADS-B aircraft. It is therefore very likely that routes of MLAT and ADS-B aircraft are the same.
Observed routes
Most flights are first tracked departing the UAE. From full ADS-B tracks, it becomes clear that the flights depart from Abu Dhabi International Airport. A selection of flights can be tracked back to the military apron of Abu Dhabi International Airport, also known as Al Reef Air Base. This suggests the flights do not carry a commercial payload.
After take-off in Abu Dhabi, all flights turn south, crossing Oman over land. Around Oman’s border with Yemen, they fly over the Arabian Sea until they reach Somalia. This portion of the flight can only be tracked on full ADS-B. After crossing over Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, the aircraft finally reach Uganda, where they descend and land at Entebbe International Airport. This final portion of the flight can generally be tracked for all aircraft, both ADS-B and MLAT.
After a stop in Entebbe, some of the flights are tracked taking off in Entebbe and continuing their way northwest, crossing over the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A small fraction of the flights is tracked crossing into the Central African Republic, where they disappear at cruising altitude. Logical destinations include part Chad and perhaps part of the Central African Republic.
Hours later, the aircraft re-appear in opposite direction, again at cruising altitude. After another stop in Entebbe, the flights return to the UAE: Mostly to Abu Dhabi, but sometimes to Al Ain.
Visual evidence
Pictures exist showing Il-76s around Entebbe:
EX-76006 arriving to Entebbe on 22 May 2023. Source: twitter.com/com/Gerjon_/status/1660703358133436417?s=20
List of flights
The following flights have been identified. A “flight” has been defined as: the confirmed existence of a flight to and/or from Entebbe on the indicated day.
1. 16 May 2023: “Fly Sky Airlines” UR-FSC, tracked outbound Entebbe.
2. 20 May 2023: “Fly Sky Airlines” EX-76006, tracked inbound Entebbe from the east, inbound Entebbe again from the northwest, and departing Entebbe.
3. 22 May 2023: “Fly Sky Airlines” EX-76006, tracked inbound Entebbe from the east, inbound Entebbe again from the northwest, tracked departing Entebbe and returning to the UAE.
4. 24 May 2023: “Fly Sky Airlines” UR-FSC, tracked inbound Entebbe from the east and tracked around Entebbe. Tracked departing Entebbe.
5. 26/27 May 2023: “Fly Sky Airlines” EX-76006, tracked inbound Entebbe from the east and inbound Entebbe again from the northwest. Tracked departing Entebbe.
6. 28 May 2023: “Fly Sky Airlines” UR-FSC, tracked inbound Entebbe from the east, inbound Entebbe again from the northwest and outbound Entebbe.
7. 30 May 2023: “Fly Sky Airlines” UR-FSC, tracked inbound Entebbe from the east. Tracked outbound Entebbe and returning to the UAE on the 31st.
8. 04 Jun 2023: “Fly Sky Airlines” UR-FSC, tracked inbound Entebbe from the east and outbound Entebbe.
9. 06 Jun 2023: “Fly Sky Airlines” UR-FSC, tracked inbound and outbound Entebbe
10. 11 Jun 2023: “Fly Sky Airlines” UR-FSC, tracked inbound Entebbe. Tracked returning on 12 Jun.
11. 20 Jun 2023: “Fly Sky Airlines” UR-FSA, tracked outbound the UAE, inbound Entebbe, outbound Entebbe and back into the UAE on 21 Jun 2023.
12. 20/21 Jun 2023: “Zetavia” UR-ZAR, tracked departing Abu Dhabi (military apron) to Entebbe. Tracked from Entebbe in direction of Central African Republic and back to Entebbe. Tracked returning to Abu Dhabi.
13. 23 Jun 2023: “Fly Sky Airlines” UR-FSA, tracked outbound the UAE, around Entebbe and outbound Entebbe.
14. 25 Jun 2023: “Fly Sky Airlines” UR-FSA, tracked around Entebbe.
15. 25 Jun 2023: “Zetavia” UR-ZAR tracked departing Abu Dhabi to Entebbe. Tracked from Entebbe in direction of Central African Republic and back to Entebbe. Tracked returning to Abu Dhabi.
16. 25 Jun 2023: “Fly Sky Airlines” UR-FSE, tracked outbound the UAE, around Entebbe, and outbound Entebbe.
17. 26 Jun 2023: “Fly Sky Airlines” UR-FSC, tracked around Entebbe twice, tracked departing Entebbe and back into the UAE.
18. 27 Jun 2023: “Fly Sky Airlines” UR-FSA, tracked outbound the UAE, inbound Entebbe, tracked inbound Entebbe again, outbound Entebbe and back into the UAE.
19. 27 Jun 2023: “Fly Sky Airlines” UR-FSE, tracked outbound the UAE, inbound Entebbe, inbound Entebbe again and outbound Entebbe.
20. 27/28 Jun 2023: “Sapsan Airline” 6010F6, tracked from Abu Dhabi (military apron) to Entebbe. Tracke from Entebbe in direction of Central African Republic and back to Entebbe. Tracked departing Entebbe and back to Al Ain.
21. 27/28 Jun 2023: “Zetavia” UR-ZAR, tracked from Abu Dhabi (military apron) to Entebbe. Tracked from Entebbe in direction of Central African Republic and back to Entebbe. Tracked returning to Al Ain from Entebbe.
22. 27/28 Jun 2023: “Sapsan Airline” 6010EC, tracked from Abu Dhabi to Entebbe. Tracked from Entebbe into Central African Republic and back to Entebbe. Tracked returning to Abu Dhabi from Entebbe.
23. 28 Jun 2023: “Fly Sky Airlines” UR-FSC, tracked inbound Entebbe, inbound Entebbe again, outbound Entebbe and back into the UAE.
24. 29 Jun 2023: “Fly Sky Airlines” UR-FSA, tracked outbound the UAE, inbound Entebbe, tracked inbound Entebbe again, outbound Entebbe and back into the UAE.
25. 29 Jun 2023: “Fly Sky Airlines” UR-FSE, tracked outbound the UAE, inbound Entebbe, inbound Entebbe again, outbound Entebbe and back into the UAE.
26. 29/30 Jun 2023: “Sapsan Airline” 6010EC. Tracked from Abu Dhabi (military apron) to Entebbe. Tracked into the Central African Republic. Tracked returning to Entebbe. Tracked returning to the UAE (en route!)
27. 30 Jun 2023: “Fly Sky Airlines” EX-76006, tracked outbound the UAE, inbound Entebbe, outbound Entebbe.
28. 30 Jun 2023: “New Way Cargo” EX-76010, tracked departing Abu Dhabi to Entebbe. Tracked from Entebbe in direction of Central African Republic and back to Entebbe. Tracked from Entebbe back to the UAE (en route!)
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