Ten African Security Trends from 2025 in Graphics
Ethiopian soldiers attend a drone piloting training program organized by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security at an aviation school in Beijing. (Photo courtesy AFP/Xing Guangli)
Check out this great collection of 2025 graphics from the Africa Center of Security Studies, highlighting security trends across Africa (Article Link).
“A look back at 2025 in graphics reveals an African security landscape being reshaped by growing external interventions, militaries emboldened to seize and consolidate power, and the proliferation of drones that expands the reach and lethality of armed combatants. The confluence of urbanization, demographic pressures, and the increasing regionalization of conflicts is further straining Africa’s already fragile security environment. Despite these challenges, numerous African countries have made noteworthy progress over the past year in building out their communications, road, rail, and space infrastructure to expand economic productivity and opportunities for the continent’s 1.5 billion, mostly youthful, citizens.”
One of the most interesting developments is the evolving technology landscape across Africa and the proliferation of drones in substate conflicts.
Key Trends:
- The proliferation of drones is reshaping the battlespace in Africa’s armed conflicts. With their decreasing costs, growing availability, and reduced need for operational expertise, drones are effectively providing the capabilities of a small air force and dramatically expanding the reach of armed combatants.
- At least 31 African countries have acquired thousands of individual unmanned units, with the pace of government military drone acquisitions increasing.
- Armed nonstate actors in at least nine African countries—Burkina Faso, the DRC, Kenya, Libya, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Somalia, and Sudan—have acquired and used military drones.
- Middle powers, particularly Türkiye, are asymmetrically expanding their influence in Africa by meeting the continent’s rising demand for drones. Türkiye is Africa’s top supplier, with a total of 32 agreements. Israel, the UAE, and Iran have similarly expanded their reach on the continent via the supply of drones.
- African countries are seeking to indigenize drone production capabilities, particularly with the proliferation of small, commercially made drones that are being modified and integrated into tactical operations. Enterprises in nine African countries (Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, and Tunisia) now produce military drones, supplying approximately 12 percent of Africa’s overall drone market.
- The propagation of unmanned weapons systems has made urban areas increasingly vulnerable. Drone attacks by the warring parties in Sudan have resulted in mass civilian casualties in major cities across the country
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