March 8, 2025
Spending on Sky Win Aeronautics and how it was financed remains unknown
Borkena
Toronto – Just a few days after the inauguration of an ammunition factory in Hamicho , Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed has announced another military industry – a drone factory.
“Today, as we inaugurate Sky Win Aeronautics Industries, we recognize that the locally manufactured drones before us were unimaginable just a few years ago,” Abiy Ahmed wrote on his social media after inaugurating the factory.
He says ” In addition to producing and consuming, Ethiopia has built a potential to export drones.”
Sky Win Aeronautics Industries will be producing drones for military and civil purposes, the state media reported citing the Prime Minister. It is not independently verified if the factory is capable of producing at a level of export.
Abiy Ahmed’s government has been heavily relying on imported drones from UAE and Turkey during the war against TPLF and in the ongoing war in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. Nearly 2000 civilians have been reportedly killed in ongoing war in the Amhara region of Ethiopia in a span of a year and half.
“Our ability to produce drones with diverse capabilities—designed and built by our own young professionals—is a significant milestone. To sustain this progress, we must invest in continuous research, expand our market reach, and strengthen local production of smart sensor technologies, ” the Nobel Peace Prize Winner PM said in his facebook page post which he wrote in three languages.
The amount of government spending for the drone factory – whose construction reportedly started two years ago – is not disclosed.
News of the domestic drone production came at a time when Ethiopia and Eritrea are speculated to be heading towards war.
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