Turkey’s Africa strategy contradicts the claims of critics of US foreign policy

Turkey’s large military, trade, Islamic diplomacy and educational expansion in Africa, some analysts say, are undermining America’s goals, as Ankara promotes wars and conflicts on the continent.

Experts say Turkey’s military sales appear to be based on profit maximization, without concern about what the arms sales do to the balance of power, especially in jihadist areas such as the Sahel.

Recently, several reports claim that Turkish companies have sold military drones to both sides in the 3-year conflict in Sudan.

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“Turkey is helping a lot in all these conflicts in Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, to strengthen its military presence, its economic connections,” Turkish analyst Gönül Tol told a meeting of the American Enterprise Institute in Washington last week. Tol, the founding director of the Middle East Institute’s Turkey program, added that the country is “one of the leading arms suppliers in Africa. So if there is more chaos, that will help Erdogan strengthen his hands.”

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said in October that the total trade value with the African continent has increased from $5.4 billion in 2003, to $41 billion in 2024. He told a business and economic forum in Istanbul that Turkish Airlines is literally leading the way in African countries for Turkish companies, now flying to 64 African destinations.

Erdogan told the forum that over the past two decades, “we have advanced our relations hand-in-hand, shoulder-to-shoulder, and most importantly, heart-to-heart, to an unimaginable level.”

Somalis celebrate the victory of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after winning the presidential election during government-organized celebrations in Mogadishu, May 29, 2023. (Hassan Ali Elmi AFP/ Via Getty Images)

Drone sales to Sudan’s warring allies will only escalate the war, a behavior that is directly contrary to US policy. Last month, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that “the US is working with allies and others to end foreign military support for groups that fuel violence.”

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“Turkey’s drones, marketed as a less expensive and politically less disruptive alternative to the US or Europe, have proliferated in all of Africa’s conflict zones,” Mariam Wahba, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital.

“Reporting that Turkish firms have supplied drones to the Sudanese Armed Forces (government) and the Rapid Support Forces (opposition forces in the war) underlines the approach of Ankara: access and influence take precedence over stability, public protection or compliance with Western policy objectives,” he said.

Bayraktar Akinci Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), is assembled as an aircraft at the Flight Training and Test Center in Istanbul, Turkey on July 5, 2022. ((Photo by BAYKAR/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images))

In FDD’s 2025 report, Sinan Siddi, senior partner and director of the organization’s Turkey Program, wrote, “The agreement between Baykar and SAF is worth $120 million, resulting in the sale of six TB2 drones, three ground control stations, and 600 warheads.” Siddi said the deal came about after the US imposed sanctions on such sales.

Although Turkish drones are also said to have been sold to the Sudanese RSF, the company allegedly involved has reportedly publicly denied having sold them. The company did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

A State Department spokesperson, when asked by Fox News Digital about the allegations, said, “We are referring it to the Turkish Government for comment on reports related to any Turkish companies operating in Sudan.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Turkish government but did not receive a response.

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A Turkish Airlines flight arrives in Mogadishu on Oct. 2022. (Photos by Sally Hayden/SOPA/LightRocket via Getty Images)

This TB2 plane, which was reportedly sold to the Sudanese government, was made by a company that is said to belong to the son-in-law of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Experts say the TB2 is a sixth of the cost of the US Reaper fighter jet. Fox News Digital reached out to the company, but it did not respond.

The US Africa Command’s Africa Defense Forum recently reported that “it typically costs between $2 million and $5 million per aircraft, although complete system packages – including ground control stations, communication systems, and training – are often more expensive, sometimes as much as $5-$15 million per system depending on the contract. The TB2 is known for its high cost, with operating costs averaging only a few dollars per hour.”

Especially in the African region of the Sahel, FDD’s Wahba said that Turkey is trying to return to the principles of its Ottoman Empire, which ruled for centuries and promoted the tradition of placing caliphates – places where Islamic law is strictly applied.

Wahba said, “Overall, this is a worrisome development that risks undermining US interests. In addition to supporting Islamist organizations such as Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, which is not clearly visible in its ideological focus, Ankara is pursuing a neo-Ottoman foreign policy that is already taking a visible form in all parts of Africa.”

“Turkey’s arms sales across Africa are best understood”, FDD’s Siddi told Fox News Digital, “not as a short-term transaction, but as a deliberate strategy to expand the political, military and economic base of Ankara in a continent that is highly contested by international and central powers.”

Gambian President Adamu Barrow, left, welcomes Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, in Banjul, Gambia, Monday, Jan. 27, 2020. Erdogan is in Gambia on a three-nation African tour. (President of Turkey via AP, Pool)

He said, “By sending drones, small arms and security services to weak states like Sudan … the Erdogan government is positioning Turkey as a low-cost, low-term alternative to Western partners, while at the same time opening new markets for its rapidly growing defense industry. Turkey’s regional ambitions.”

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The number of Turkish embassies working in Africa has increased from 12 in 2002 to 44 today. Wahba said the 64 African destinations Turkish Airlines flies to are a useful indicator. “As a state-backed airline, its rapid expansion of direct routes to African cities shows Turkey’s priorities in terms of diplomacy and security. The airline acts as a soft power and allows access to Ankara’s broader agenda.”

Wahba said that all this should matter to Washington, “because Ankara’s model is increasingly competitive, and in many cases it directly reduces the priorities of the US in reducing conflicts and stability.”