Türkiye to deliver T129 Atak helicopters to Mogadishu in military support pact
The transfer of the aircraft to the troubled country in the Horn of Africa is touted as one of the key assets in combating the Al-Qaeda backed Al-Shabaab insurgents
The military support pact between Türkiye and Somalia is yielding results after the former committed to deliver T129 Atak helicopters to Somalia’s navy as part of a bilateral defence pact signed earlier this year, media reports indicate.
The transfer of the aircraft to the troubled country in the Horn of Africa is touted as one of the key assets in combating the Al-Qaeda backed Al-Shabaab insurgents.
The Al-Shabaab militants have wreaked havoc between the Kenya-Somalia borders some infiltrating and launching attacks including conducting abductions for ransom attacks on Kenyan soil particularly in Mandera, Lamu and Garissa.
The Ankara-Mogadishu deal follows the signing of a bilateral defence pact earlier this year between Mogadishu and Ankara.
The deal is part of a broader 10-year agreement inked in February 2025 that allows Türkiye to train and equip Somalia’s defence forces.
Ankara is reportedly said to have secured a separate hydrocarbons exploration and production deal, granting Turkish Petroleum Corp operational rights in the Horn of Africa nation.
Over the past decade, Türkiye has steadily expanded its influence in the region, leveraging defence cooperation and infrastructure investments.
Ankara previously facilitated dialogue between Somalia and Ethiopia and sought to mediate disputes between Mogadishu and Somaliland, a semi-autonomous region.
This latest military engagement highlights Ankara’s strategic calculus: by bolstering Somalia’s counterterrorism capacity and embedding itself in its resource-rich energy sector, Turkey cements its growing geopolitical presence in the Horn of Africa—an area of intensifying global interest.
