Namibia parades Chinese UAV

A still from the television coverage of the NDF parade on 2 June 2025 shows a probable ASN-209 UAV. (Namibian Broadcasting Corporation)

The Namibian Defence Force (NDF) included what appeared to be a Chinese-made ASN-209 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in its 65th anniversary parade at Grootfontein airbase on 2 June.

A development on the ASN-206 UAV, which is typically used by the China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) to support artillery units, the ASN-209 has a twin-boom configuration with a pusher propeller and is launched from a truck-mounted rail using a rocket booster and recovered using a parachute, with skids helping to absorb the impact.

While the one in the televised Namibian parade appeared to have the same type of launcher as the one seen in service with the PLA, the UAV may have been one of the subsequent developments on the ASN-209, which have been identified by various names, including KVD-001 and BZK-006.

The ASN-209 has been licence-produced in Egypt and a similar type was recorded in Algeria after it crashed in 2022.

In the NDF parade, the probable ASN-209 was followed by another truck carrying two smaller fixed-wing UAVs that could not be seen clearly but appeared to have electrically powered rotors to give them a vertical take-off and landing capability.

The parade included other types of recently acquired Chinese-made equipment, including six 81 mm CS/SM1 self-propelled mortars, a type first seen in Namibia during the 34th Heroes' Day Commemoration in August 2024.

The NDF's 65th anniversary parade also included a FB-6A short-range air-defence system and a supporting search radar. The FB-6A uses the same missile as the FN-6 manportable air-defence system.