Mogadishu (Somalia Today) – Turkey deployed F-16 fighter jets to Somalia on Thursday while the United States expanded a key airbase in neighboring Kenya, marking a sharp military escalation in the strategic Horn of Africa.
The simultaneous moves highlight a deepening proxy contest for influence over the Red Sea corridor, where global powers are jostling for position amid shifting alliances and rising instability.
Turkish officials confirmed the arrival of the advanced aircraft in Mogadishu, representing a significant upgrade to Ankara’s military footprint in the fragile nation.
“Turkey has deployed F-16 jets in Somalia,” a government official told Somalia Today on condition of anonymity.
Specifically, the source said the aircraft would be operated exclusively by Turkish personnel stationed at Camp TURKSOM, Ankara’s largest overseas military base which opened in the Somali capital in 2017.
“This is for our own security,” the official added, ruling out the use of Somali pilots for the foreseeable future.
‘Blue homeland’
Beyond immediate security, the deployment operationalises a landmark defense and economic pact signed between Turkey and Somalia in February 2024.
The 10-year agreement grants Ankara the authority to rebuild Somalia’s navy and protect its territorial waters, which illegal fishing and piracy have long plagued.
The stakes have risen since Turkey began seismic surveys for oil and gas off the Somali coast, part of its “Blue Homeland” naval doctrine.
Experts say the F-16s will provide essential air cover for Turkish exploration vessels, including the Oruç Reis, deterring interference in waters where sovereignty faces growing challenges.
Furthermore, the arrival of Turkish air power comes as the region reels from Israel’s decision to recognize the self-declared Republic of Somaliland.
Tel Aviv’s move to establish ties with the breakaway region upended decades of diplomatic protocol, drawing fierce condemnation from the African Union, the Arab League, and the European Union.
Ankara slammed the recognition as “overt interference,” viewing it as a direct threat to the unity of its key African ally.
Consequently, Somaliland, which declared independence in 1991 and sits on the vital Gulf of Aden shipping route, has become a flashpoint for geopolitical rivalry.
Analysts liken the crisis to the tensions sparked in 2024 by Ethiopia’s controversial maritime deal with the separatist region, which in turn pushed Mogadishu firmly into Turkey’s orbit.
US entrenchment
Meanwhile, while Turkey fortifies its position in Mogadishu, Washington is digging in south of the border.
US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau visited Kenya’s Lamu County on Thursday to launch a $70 million runway expansion at Manda Bay.
The coastal base serves as a nerve center for US Africa Command (AFRICOM) operations against Al-Shabaab, the Al-Qaeda affiliate that remains East Africa’s most potent insurgent force.
“We have to show those who would attack us that we are resolved to defend ourselves,” Landau said at the ceremony.
He also described the project as a “tangible commitment” to the common defense of the United States and Kenya.
Notably, Manda Bay was the site of a brazen pre-dawn raid by Al-Shabaab in January 2020 that killed one US soldier and two contractors, destroying surveillance aircraft worth millions.
The base expansion also follows President Joe Biden’s 2024 designation of Kenya as a “Major Non-NATO Ally,” a status that grants Nairobi privileged access to US military technology.
Washington awarded the designation after Kenya agreed to lead a UN-backed police mission to Haiti, underscoring Nairobi’s role as the West’s preferred security partner in the region.
Ultimately, the dual military buildups have transformed the Horn of Africa into one of the world’s most crowded security theatres.
With Turkey, the United States, the UAE, and China all maintaining military outposts within a short radius, observers fear the risk of miscalculation is rising.
“It sends a very strong signal to those who would be our adversaries,” Landau noted.
