ADS-B Reveals Series of Uncommon Military Movements Across West Africa

Early December saw a series of remarkable flights into the West African nations of Nigeria and Ghana. While the purpose of these missions remains unclear, the movements may point to military actions linked to counter-terrorism operations against militants and bandits active in northern Nigeria.

For information on the US Military Flights Surge into Northern Ghana Amid Intelligence Push on Nigeria’s Christian Killings see this article.

On 3 December, a USAF C-130, registration 07-8614, operating under mission callsign LION417, departed Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire for Cotonou, Benin. After a very short stop in Cotonou, the aircraft continued to Parakou, Benin, where it remained on the ground for roughly four hours. It then returned to Cotonou, made another brief stop, and proceeded to Accra.
On 4 December, the aircraft flew to what was almost certainly Tamale, in northern Ghana. After slightly more than one hour on the ground, it returned to Accra. The aircraft later routed via Dakar to Rota in southern Spain.

The stop in Parakou may be connected to U.S. assistance for Beninese forces engaged in counter-terrorism operations. This programme is known as BORSEC 2. Earlier, on 29 June 2025, USAF C-130 08-5683, callsign LION466, flew from Abidjan to Parakou with a stop in Cotonou, and returned via Cotonou to Abidjan. These flights appear to be aimed at delivering equipment to Benin.

Then came another unusual movement: a Japan Air Self-Defense Force Kawasaki C-2 transport aircraft. The JASDF is rarely seen in Africa, apart from the occasional presence in Djibouti. This mission originated from Yonago in Japan under flight number JF101. Stops were made in U-Tapao (Thailand), Malé, and Djibouti, where the aircraft remained for five days.

It departed Djibouti for Amman on 1 December and returned the next day. On 3 December, the C-2, registration 28-1216, flew from Djibouti to Libreville under flight number JF101. On 4 December, it continued to Accra, returning to Djibouti the following day. On 6 December, the aircraft departed eastward and flew to Amman. On December 7 the aircraft left Amman heading back towards Japan. The pattern suggests cargo was delivered to Accra.

Flights to Amman and Accra by the JASDF are extremely unusual. The same aircraft arrived in Djibouti on 22 June 2025, but returned directly to Japan afterwards. Japan maintains a base at Djibouti International Airport for anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden and off Somalia.

On 4 December, an Antonov Airlines An-124 cargo aircraft made another rare appearance in Parakou, Benin. The aircraft, registration UR-82008, had departed Yaoundé, Cameroon, at 09:00 UTC. No flight number was visible on ADSBexchange until entering Benin’s airspace, where ADB509F appeared.

After roughly five hours on the ground in Parakou, it departed to Dakar for an overnight stop. It then continued to Pau, remaining there for just under three hours before heading to its home base in Leipzig.

The routing resembles previous An-124 missions. For instance, UR-82007 flew via Dakar to Pau on 25 January 2025, likely originating from N’Djamena. Pau is an important hub for French helicopter units, airborne training, and special-forces aviation.

On 5 December, a C-17 of the Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) arrived at Accra Airport in Ghana. SAC is a cooperative venture between 10 NATO countries that jointly operate three C-17s based in Hungary.

The aircraft, registration 08-0002, flew from its home base Pápa to Bucharest earlier that day. After roughly three hours on the ground—likely for loading cargo—it departed for Accra as flight BRK43. Following an overnight stay, it departed around 13:00 UTC, flew eastward, and then turned north over Nigerian airspace. The aircraft returned to Pápa, suggesting it had delivered cargo to Accra.

Finally, during the night of Friday 4 December, another notable aircraft arrived in Nigeria: a C-37B (Gulfstream), registration 09-0525, which had departed Edwards AFB in the United States. It landed around 23:30 at Abuja, home to many of Nigeria’s senior military headquarters. After a stop of about three hours, the aircraft continued to Accra.

The purpose of this mission is also unclear, though it likely carried senior U.S. military officials for high-level meetings.

Thanks to Johnny Gemini (@Borrowed7Time) and Fabian (@fabsenbln) for posting the flight movements on X.