Shadow Fleet in Africa: New Airline Invicta Air Cargo Linked to UAE Arms Transport Routes

A newly registered airline in the Central African Republic is in fact a method for the UAE to transport weapons.

The UAE has for many years flown war materiel, mainly using Ilyushin Il-76 cargo aircraft, to support troops. This concerns forces of Haftar in eastern Libya and the RSF in Sudan. The material is transported to conflict areas via a variety of indirect routes. This website previously reported on a Boeing 727 cargo aircraft that likely flies from Chad to airfields in Sudan.

The route via an airstrip in southern Libya has become more difficult, partly because the IL76 aircraft hired by UAE are no longer allowed to fly through Saudi Arabian airspace.

A completely new player in this transport network is an airline called Invicta Air Cargo. This airline operates two Airbus A300 freighters and, since late March 2026, also an Ilyushin Il-76 cargo aircraft.

The Invicta website was built by communications agency 9Yards Communications, which is headquartered in the UAE. 9Yards carries out extensive work for government entities in the UAE.

The source code on the Invicta Air Cargo website points to Gewan Holding. Just press Control-U while on the Safety Report menu and you will see this.

One of the A300 aircraft previously flew for Gewan Airways before joining Invicta. Gewan Airways, a subsidiary of NG9 Holding, is associated with the UAE president’s brother, Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Gewan operated for only one year; its AOC was revoked in October 2025. The airline was headquartered on Breakwater Road, Al Marina, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

NG9 Holdings has three subsidiaries, two are Gewan Holding and 9Yards Group. So there is a clear connection between Invicta Air Cargo, Gewan Airways and the UAE ruler.

The other A300 of Invicta previously flew for the Kyrgyz airline Aerostan.

According to information obtained by Le Monde, Invicta Air Cargo was established in August 2025 by a UAE national in Bangui, Central African Republic. Despite apparent efforts to conceal any connection, its website links back to that of Gewan Airways.

The Airbus aircraft are registered as TL-ARU and TL-AIT. TL-AIT is ex EX-30002, which was operated by Gewan and before that by Aerostan. TL-ARU is ex EX-30005 from Aerostan.

The Il-76 carries the registration TL-ATD. Its previous registration and serial number are unknown. No photographs have yet appeared online that could reveal the origin of this still-mysterious aircraft. The aircraft flew for the first time for Invicta on March 24 from Aqaba. It subsequently made several flights from the UAE to Ethiopia. On April 2, the Il-76 flew from Fujairah in the UAE to Beersheba Nevatim Airbase (VTM/LLNV) in Israel, which is a highly unusual destination.

The A300 aircraft operate flights from locations including Fujairah (UAE) and Al Reef Air Base near Abu Dhabi (UAE) to Mombasa in Kenya and onward to N’Djamena in Chad. Other recent destinations include Bole Airport in Ethiopia.

The Russian connection

The Airbus A300 aircraft are listed on the Planespotters website as flying for the Wagner Group, although it is unclear how this information was obtained. The Wagner Group is not the operator.
On Invicta’s website, the “Safety Report” section contains various texts in Russian. That is rather unusual for an airline registered in the Central African Republic.

Notably, at the end of March a flight plan was filed for a UAE–Larnaca–Tallinn–Larnaca–Tel Aviv route using a Russian-registered Il-76. Due to sanctions, this flight could not be carried out. Two days later, a new flight plan was filed for the exact same route, this time to be operated by Invicta’s Il-76 TL-ATD. That flight was scheduled for March 26 but could not proceed due to missing documentation.

Invicta Air Cargo may, besides being used for all kind of transport needs by the UAE government, also be used to circumvent sanctions.