The US continues to operate drones out of a base in Djibouti, where they have a squadron of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) stationed at Chabelley Airport. Satellite imagery shows the remote desert airstrip has expanded facilities, including up to 32 buildings likely housing maintenance personnel. While some drones are MQ-1B Predators, newer MQ-9 Reaper drones are also present, identifiable by their larger 20-meter wingspan and ability to carry more weapons than Predators. The presence of Reapers indicates missions requiring heavier payloads and higher altitudes.

1. US continues with UAV operations in
Djibouti
Written by Eamon McCarthy Earls, Wednesday, 10 June 2015
Despite reportedly considering operations
elsewhere, the US military continues to focus on
one site for launching drones in Djibouti,
maintaining a squadron of unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs) from its unacknowledged air
base at Chabelley Airport, 12 kilometres
southwest of the capital Djibouti City.
A French CNES satellite shows the remote
desert airstrip in March 2015 with six UAVs on
the tarmac. In 2010, the US first positioned eight
General Atomics MQ-1B Predators at Camp
Lemmonier, a few kilometres southeast of
Djibouti City at Djibouti-Ambouli International Airport. Djibouti has become a centre for UAV
reconnaissance and strike missions over Somalia and Yemen.
Camp Lemmonier hosted close to 3 000 US troops in 2013 and remains a major hub for manned
transport and strike aircraft. However, a series of UAV crashes halted operations out of the
airport in August 2013. At the time, the Washington Post reported that Chabelley Airport would
receive up to $13 million of upgrades from the US military. Satellite imagery confirms that these
upgrades have taken place. During the summer of 2013, a tarmac extension adjacent to the
runway, to the north, with seven hangars and service buildings, was added.
Recent images show that the base may now host a compound with up to 32 buildings, likely
housing mechanics and maintenance personnel for the aircraft. Four tanker trucks also appear to
be visible in satellite imagery.
At least three of the UAVs are likely to be MQ-1B Predators from the first group of aircraft
dispatched to Djibouti. However, three other aircraft are suspected to be MQ-9 Reapers, based
on their 20 meter wingspan, greater than the wingspan of a standard Predator. Although Reapers
and Predators have comparable range, the Reaper is capable of transporting a larger weapons
payload.
Although reports in 2013 suggested that UAVs would also operate out of Niamey airport in
Niger and Arba Minch in Kenya, satellite images collected in 2015 by CNES have not shown
UAVs visible outside of hangars. The status of these possible additional sites is unclear, but the
availability of Reapers in Africa seems to indicate a move toward heavily armed, high-altitude
missions. Although Reapers have only about half the endurance of Predators, they are capable of

2. operating at double the altitude of a Predator—up to 15 000 meters—and can carry weapons on
seven hardpoints instead of the two typical of Predators.