Between the 23rd and 27th January 2026, the Ethiopian Air Force celebrated its 90th anniversary at the Debre Zeit airbase near the town of Bishoftu, about an hours drive south of Addis Ababa. It was titled the Black Lion Airshow and from advanced information it was known the event would run from the 23-27th January but only the 24th and 27th would see flying activity and that would only be from 1600-1730. For those that attended from the first day that did seem to be the case with only static aircraft seen on the 23rd. That said the static display did produce a good selection of Ethiopian air force rarities. Having only heard about the show on the 16th January I (Chris Lofting) was left with little time to decide and make plans. Obviously I was keen to see some Ethiopian hardware up close and with this hobby windows of opportunity do sometimes open unexpectedly but can also close just as quickly at the whim of world political events. In all honesty Ethiopia had not been on my radar as the likely hood of ever getting good access to any of their bases seemed very remote. I had some Italian and Dutch friends who were keen to go and fortunately for me had made some headway in obtaining some relevant information. A call to the organisers website by one of the the Italians lead to a direct contact with an Ethiopian air force general who confirmed that foreigners would be allowed access and photography would also be allowed. This may seem a strange question to have asked  but we are looking at a country which prides itself on being one of the best for bird watching but has a law forbidding foreigners from bringing binoculars into the country. There are also some restrictions on certain cameras but I believe this to be the larger professional TV type video cameras. A casual question was also asked about the current status of the MiG-23 and its possible participation. An answer was they are still active but one was not expected to take part but he would consider it. As it turned out it would appear the MiG-23s are no longer in service but good to his word he had a MiG-23UB albeit a withdrawn one put in the static. Although not based at Debre Zeit there are a number stored on the airfield around the Dejen rework facility. The MiG-23UB in the static was 1202 and looked in reasonable condition but without its ejection seats, still it was a great addition and made for a nice photograph.

Other considerations on making the trip and maybe more concerning were the safety aspects of visiting Ethiopia and dangers of travelling out side the capital Addis Ababa. A look at the FCO travel advice for Ethiopia made for some interesting reading. Whilst a large part of Ethiopia is currently thought dangerous for foreign travellers by the FCO fortunately the main road down to Bishoftu was deemed reasonably safe as long as you don’t stray off it. Hiring a car and driving yourself is discouraged but the main hurdle is with the license requirements. An International Driving Permit is not valid in Ethiopia. Foreigner drivers must convert their home license into a temporary Ethiopian one at the Ministry of Transport a process that is described as laborious.

For this trip our small group along with most of the other groups of photographers had hired a minibus and local driver. As it turned out we were all staying in the same hotel in Addis. Another potential issue was vaccination requirements which at this short notice could be a showstopper. The FCO gave a comprehensive list of possible illnesses that could be contracted but Malaria was not such an issue as Addis Ababa was over 2000m above sea level at which it becomes less of a problem. There is a prevalence of water borne diseases so the usual precautions of only bottled water and no ice in drinks should be observed along with no swimming in any rivers! Although vaccinations are recommended they are not obligatory and so not a showstopper! Even though I had not definitely decided on going I applied for a visa online just in case. This took three days to process and was very straight forward. It also saved having to join the large queue of people in the terminal getting their visa on arrival. By the 22nd I had decided to join my Italian friends and attend the last two days of the show on the 26th and 27th. It would be a quick visit of less than 48 hours, in fact only 43 hours. My Ethiopian flight would arrive at 0630 on the 26th and I would depart at 0130 on the 28th. The next challenge was trying to buy tickets for the show! These were available to buy on the air show website. Originally you could use a credit card but by the time I tried to buy my tickets this option had been removed and now the only possible option available required you to have an Ethiopian mobile phone number! I decided to resolve this obstacle once I arrived. There was a hotel not too far from the one that I was staying at that was selling tickets although I was not so keen on this idea as it meant having to make my own way there and all advice was pointing to not walking around the city on your own. On booking the hotel I was immediately sent a message from them telling me to only use their shuttle bus from the airport and not to use any local taxis. So as to save time I decided to change some money in the terminal when I arrived. Not usually the best place I know but I didn’t see as I would need much more than €100s worth of the local currency. Annoyingly the guy behind the desk said I could not change less than €300, so begrudgingly that’s what I ended up doing. What I didn’t expect was the three big stacks of notes I received in return. It worked out around 55,000 ETB but the largest notes they had were 200 ETB so I ended up with 275 notes in three big bundles! The shuttle bus was waiting just outside the terminal as promised and the hotel was only 10 minutes away.

Unfortunately the main road outside the front of the hotel was closed due to being resurfaced so we had to take a detour around the back streets and arrived at a compound at the rear. This was not a problem this early but it did create some challenges with the dense traffic on further occasions getting in and out of the city. Once checked in I asked the receptionist if she could possibly use her phone to buy the airshow tickets for me and I would pay her in cash. I needed tickets for both days for me and for two of the Italians in my group who were arriving an hour after me so 6 in total. She was happy to help but was not keen on being handed money in the hotel so asked if I would meet her outside once she finished work in about 20 minutes time. This would give me chance to get rid of at least one stack of local currency or so I thought. So we exchanged numbers on WhatsApp and I awaited her call. I spent the time in my room counting out the 17,000 ETB which the six tickets cost. After 20 minutes she messaged and asked in what currency I could pay her. I offered euros, stirling and local. She preferred stirling so all my money counting had been in vain. She also gave me the address of a bar in the next street that we could meet in so I still ended up having to walk around down back streets on my own which I had been trying to avoid! Having found her she made the payment and I received the email and link to download all of the tickets. Unfortunately the downloads didn’t really produce a ticket but I did have proof I had paid. The website left a lot to be desired in this respect. It turned out I was not the only one who had a problem downloading tickets. Betty, the receptionist, kindly told me to contact her if we had trouble getting into the event and she would vouch that we had paid. I returned to the hotel and awaited my fellow travellers who unlike me had to wait an hour for the shuttle bus and then got caught in all the traffic. We did eventually leave at 0930 arriving at the base at 1100.  On arrival it was very relaxed with the tickets and as long as we could vaguely show we had paid we were quickly ushered in. 

In deciding whether to go or not I had studied the airbase on google earth to see what the layout was and judge which ramp might be set up for the public and possible static and how far the taxiways and runway might be. As it turned out this was a complete waste of time as they had built a completely new ramp especially for the show at the southern end of the base, not far from the runway 34 threshold, with a completely new entrance and road. It was connected but completely self contained from the rest of the base. They had also erected a purpose built exhibition hall and a VIP grandstand which did not look like temporary structures. On Saturday 24th the event was officially opened by the Prime Minister of Ethiopia and Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Dr. Abiy Ahmed, this was followed by a large parade and air display which was live streamed on the website. I had watched from home hoping to get some clues as to what to expect. In front of VIPs and dignitaries it was an impressive show. All aircraft departed on runway 16 from the North which meant they were quite high by the time they reach the public area but fortunately all landed 34 which meant passing very close to the public area. This was to prove the biggest of the flying events as neither the C-130, AW-139, Mi-17s or L-39s flew again during the other days of the show. It was also the only day they put three Su-27UBKs up together but this may just be due to 1906 going unserviceable. The UAE also put up all three Mirage 2000s, three F-16s and six AH-64s. On the following days only one F-16 flew on the 26th and 27th and a single Mirage only on the 27th. They flew six AH-64s on the 26th but only four on the 27th. The other types which participated on the 24th and to a lesser extent on the 26th and 27th were four GROB120TPs, a pair of Mi-24Ps, a single Su-27SK, a pair of Su-27UBKs , a pair of Su-30Ks, four Yak-130s, and a pair of AW-119Ke’s. The UAE AH-64s appeared to be on detachment and would depart during the show, go off on a training flight and then return. As well as participating in the flypast on the 24th the Mirage and F-16 also did full display routines.

I arrived on the morning of Monday the 26th and was only expecting a static day but was pleasantly surprised that some flying was planned from 1430. Up until the start of the flying there was plenty of time to photograph the static display. Again the static display was much larger on the opening day of the show on the 23rd with the C-130, AW139, Mi-24P, Mi-17, a second Su-27SK, Su-30K plus a UAE F-16 and Mirage2000 all being removed to take part in the flying display on the 24th but this still left a nice selection including an Su-27SK, Su-25UB, AW119Ke, GROB120PT, Tecnam P2006T, L-39C, YAK-130, MiG-23UB, DHC-5D, Mi-171sh and an Mi-8MTV-1. The flying started on time and although most lift offs from runway 16 were, as expected, too high some decent pictures were possible but landings were all nice and close on runway 34 so after the first day I came away happy with shots of virtually everything that flew. The following day Tuesday the 27th and last day of the show again it was to be a VIP day. A brass band was present but what caught everyone’s eye was the unexpected appearance of two USMC MV-22B Osprey’s which landed and parked on the end of the static ramp and brought with them the US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and the head of the US African Command AFRICOM General Dagvin R M Anderson. They had come from Djibouti then picked up their VIPs from Addis Ababa and brought them here. Obviously they didn’t consider the road journey from the capital to be safe and chose to fly instead! They were personally guided amongst others by the Ethiopian Air Force Commander Lieutenant Yilma Merdasa and Chief of the General Staff Field Marshal General Birhanu Jula. After being shown around the exhibition hall and static with a few handshakes, speaches and photo opportunities they then actually departed just before the flying display started. 

Even though there were numerous Ethiopian media organisations present there did not appear to be a media centre or anything on the airshow website indicating one. Consideration was given to possibly getting some some sponsorship from a magazine and getting media accreditation for possible better access but this may then have lead to having to apply for a journalist visa and jumping through all the hoops needed to obtain one in time. As for better access I was lucky along with some Dutch, Danish and Italians after a lot of badgering/pleading to get taken to an old control tower at the opposite end of the airfield near the 16 threshold to get a little closer to the action. As an added bonus a visiting IL-76 had arrived earlier that day and had conveniently been parked on one of the runway exits which meant all landing aircraft would have to vacate at the very end of the runway and past the old tower otherwise it would have made it difficult trying to cover the departures and arrivals on two different taxyways. Now it was great for us but just a headache for air traffic control. The whole atmosphere was relaxed and it was possible with coordination to cross over the taxyway if required for the better shot. The old tower was a useful vantage point but not perfect as it had not only a large tree in front of it but a large antenna array so views were limited. The action again started around 1430 and was all done by 1600 but it was a truly memorable 90 minutes. Hopefully the pictures will speak for themselves. 

The airbase is massive and incorporates the Dejen Aviation Engineering Industry (DAVI), also referred to as the Dejen Aviation Engineering Complex (DAVEC). They run a diverse operation with maintenance and overhaul for the Ethiopian air forces fixed and rotary types plus emerging UAV industry. As a result this overhaul facility is littered with disused and stripped airframes. Also on the air force part of the base there are a large amount of derelict and withdrawn aircraft scattered everywhere. My priority was the active aircraft and with only two days I had to sacrifice a good look around. Also it was pot luck getting access outside the public area depending on who you managed to speak with. It was a different answer or promise from each officer and a lot of waiting around in the hope of getting a positive response. I am glad to say that a number of lucky Dutch enthusiasts did cover a lot of ground and did unearth a few gems getting amongst withdrawn types such as An-12s, a Tu-154, Mi-8s, an Mi-24A, a Su-25, DHC-6s, Yak-40 and 30 plus MiG-21s made up of bis, R and UM versions. A quick look at google earth will give you some idea. The stored MiG-21s are interesting in that they have been withdrawn for around 15 years and appear to have been painted just prior to that with the same brown and sand scheme with serial on the nose and tail but no national insignia. For that amount of time they are still in reasonable condition, most without flat tires  and are all still wearing a cockpit cover which was unfortunate for getting any decent pictures. Possibly just being used as decoys all parked in pairs in their own little bays along side the taxiway. The base also has a number of very large concrete open shelters. Far larger than we are used to in Europe albeit without doors. The UAE contingent made use of one section for their three F-16s, three Mirages and six Apaches. 

Not connected to the show but a nice bonus were two IL-76TDs which arrived on the 27th. Both predominantly white apart from exotic registrations. XT-ABN which should belong to Burkino Faso operator Batot Air and Kyrgyzstan registered EX-76026 operated by New Way Cargo Airlines. Also seen flying after the show finished on the 26th and 27th the large Turkish built Akinci UAV operated by the Ethiopian air force which unfortunately evaded most cameras. A shame one was not put on display for the show. Also missing were the two above An-12s and the sole An-32 which had purposely been flown out to another base to make more space for the show. In my mind this was totally unnecessary as one of each would have been more than welcome in the static area of which there was more than enough space available. Also it would have been nice to have had one of the many MiG-21s put on display as they were in such good shape. One of each version would not have gone a miss!

Catering for the event was supplied by a number of hotels from Addis Ababa. Good food and good local beer was easily available. Apart from the VIPS,  base personnel, their families and the two dozen or so European photographers there was not really much in the way of general public. Maybe because of its distance outside of Addis Ababa or the daily ticket price of $15, which may possibly have been outside of most ordinary people’s budget. When asked if there would be another show the answer was in two years time if the money is available. Judging by the amount already invested in a new ramp and facilities I would say it is unlikely to be a one off event. 

After staying for some food and a beer we set off back to Addis. It was then a quick shower and then off to the airport for the over night flight back. We left plenty of time to get through security and immigration. I was briefly stopped at immigration because my digital boarding card did not have a date on it. I had to find my original booking to prove I was there on the correct day. Never had that before. Then once airside I went to find the exchange office to get rid of the excess amount of local currency I had been hood winked into changing. I found from the other guys you could change much smaller amounts than €300 no problem most only changing €50! On finding an exchange counter I was told they were not allowed to change local currency it was against the law!!! I needed to have done it outside the terminal. This left me in a slight dilemma as you are only allowed to take 3000 local currency out of the country and I had at least 30,000 birr left. Behind her counter was a different bank so I went to try them. There I found an Ethiopian Del Boy who listened to my problem, smiling took my still large wedge of Ethiopian birr,  counted it out and then said $110, $100 for you and $10 for me. In all honesty I didn’t mind giving him $10 but I think he had already made nearly $100 on the exchange rate! Laughing to myself I agreed and asked for it in Euros to which he gave me €90. Still can’t work out what I spent €210 on in my two days! 

Having chosen a window seat when checking in I was looking forward to being able to rest my head and get some sleep. On boarding the aircraft I was told the aircraft had been reconfigured and my seat was no longer available and I had been changed to a middle seat. Funny but once onboard my original seat in the row behind mine was still there, so thank you Ethiopian airways for an uncomfortable flight. Apart from this one annoyance and the Bureau de change conspiracy everyone one I met while in Ethiopia was extremely friendly and helpful. As for the safety aspect, I never felt unsafe at anytime and maybe I was just being too cautious or maybe I was just lucky during my short 43 hour stay. For me the unexpected short notice trip was a total success with some rare aircraft caught just as I had hoped.

You can find out more about the air show here: Home – 90 Years of Ethiopian Air Power

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