The Cradle

JUL 4, 2026

Turkiye is building an advanced space base in Somalia that could be used to launch satellites and ballistic missiles over large swathes of Africa and West Asia, sparking concern among Israel’s military establishment.

The base will be situated in Warsheikh, a Somali city approximately 70 kilometers north of Mogadishu, with a view of the Indian Ocean.

Satellite images show that Ankara has begun construction of the base, including a helicopter landing pad, military barracks, and an underground warehouse.

Ankara says that its goal is to launch satellites into orbit as part of Turkiye’s national space program, as well as for other nations for a fee.

However, according to a report published this week by Le Monde, the base will also be used to deploy ballistic missiles with ranges long enough to strike targets across much of Africa and West Asia.

According to an investigation by the Middle East Forum, a pro-Israel think tank, the facility is designed to accommodate missile systems with a range of up to 2,000 km.

While such a range is too short to target Israel, the base may allow Turkiye to challenge Israel’s growing presence in Somaliland, a breakaway autonomous region of Somalia.

Israel became the first UN member to recognize Somaliland’s independence in December.

Tel Aviv reportedly plans to build a military base in Somaliland and has discussed expelling millions of Palestinians from Gaza to the breakaway region as the final stage of the genocide that began in 2023.

Israel also seeks to expand its presence in Somaliland, near the strategic Horn of Africa, to challenge Yemen’s primacy at the Bab al-Mandab Strait and across the Red Sea.

Turkiye says Somalia was chosen as the site of the base due to its proximity to the equator, which reduces fuel consumption and increases the maximum payload capacity of spacecraft launched into orbit.

Its location on the coast of the Indian Ocean also allows launch debris to fall into the water, increasing safety.

The first phase of the Turkish space base is expected to be completed by summer 2027, at a total cost of $350 million.

Turkiye already maintains strong security ties with Somalia. TURKSOM, Ankara’s largest overseas military base, is located in Mogadishu.

Turkey has provided Somalia with F-16 fighter jets, M48 and M60 tanks, armored vehicles, and air defense systems.

The two countries have also signed agreements to develop potentially vast energy reserves. Turkiye has been conducting drilling operations in three offshore blocks off the Somali coast this year.

In a sign of Ankara’s expanding military footprint in Somalia, Turkish F-16 fighter jets carried out airstrikes against Al-Shabab targets in Somalia in April, killing nearly 35 militants.

In February, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett claimed that Turkiye under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan poses a new strategic threat to Israel.

He described Erdogan as “a sophisticated and dangerous adversary who wants to surround Israel” and cautioned that the country must not “turn a blind eye again.”

Nevertheless, Turkiye and Israel have long cooperated in the fields of energy and trade.

Israel receives much of its oil from Azerbaijan via Turkiye. Oil flows through a pipeline from Baku to the Turkish port city of Ceyhan, after which it is loaded onto tankers bound for Israel’s Haifa port.

Erdogan has refused to cut off oil to Israel, allowing it to continue the genocide in Gaza and wars on Lebanon and Iran.

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Via https://thecradle.co/articles/turkiye-builds-spaceport-in-somalia-setting-off-alarms-in-israel