Türkiye to help Somalia launch its first satellite in 2027
Türkiye’s planned space and missile facility near Warsheikh, Somalia.
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Somalia Today
The $350 million Warsheikh site will also double as a ballistic missile testing facility, according to Le Monde.
Türkiye is assisting Somalia in preparing to launch the country’s first satellite in 2027, extending a partnership between the two countries that already spans energy and defence cooperation.
Turkish Ambassador to Somalia Alper Aktaş said the satellite programme would be based in the Warsheikh district of Middle Shabelle, where Ankara has been developing a major space facility since October 2025. He said many people would have laughed a decade ago at the idea of Somalia launching a satellite.
The Indian Ocean site sits roughly 70 kilometres north of Mogadishu. According to Le Monde, the $350 million project combines a satellite launch base with a ballistic missile testing facility, giving Türkiye a space platform alongside expanded defence infrastructure in the area.
Somalia’s location near the equator adds a technical advantage. Rockets launched from the site can draw on the Earth’s rotational speed, around 1,670 kilometres per hour, to reduce fuel consumption and carry heavier payloads into orbit.
The proposed coastal site spans roughly 30 by 30 kilometres and offers a clear eastward launch path over open ocean, allowing spent rocket stages and debris to fall away from populated areas. Officials say that positioning could eventually support commercial launches carrying satellites for other countries.
A successful launch would place Somalia among a small group of African territories to have hosted orbital launches, joining Algeria, which hosted France’s Astérix launch in 1965, and Kenya, which hosted satellite launches between 1967 and 1988.
The Warsheikh facility forms part of a broader expansion of Turkish involvement in Somalia. Ankara has also reinforced military ties through Camp TURKSOM in Mogadishu, deploying F-16 fighter jets, T129 attack helicopters and AS-532 Cougar helicopters to the country in 2026. Global Firepower ranked Türkiye as the Middle East’s strongest conventional military in 2026 and ninth globally.
The project is developing against a wider backdrop of regional activity around the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea corridor, near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait linking the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea and Suez Canal. Israel has separately engaged with Somaliland, the breakaway territory that Somalia’s government in Mogadishu continues to claim.
Ankara has criticised Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan calling the move illegitimate and unacceptable while reaffirming Türkiye’s support for Somalia’s territorial integrity. Several Arab and Muslim-majority states have also voiced criticism of the recognition.
Reports have pointed to Israeli interest in a security presence near Berbera, a Gulf of Aden port with one of Africa’s longest runways. Israeli military delegations have visited Hargeisa and Berbera, and Somaliland intelligence officers have travelled to Israel for training, according to those reports.
Satellite imagery cited by Le Monde in July showed underground structures and platforms near Berbera that analysts said could support military operations. The United Arab Emirates has separately been expanding infrastructure around the airport there.
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