Sudanese Air Force
The Sudanese Air Force was born with independence in 1956 on a handful of British Provosts, grew on Soviet, Chinese and Russian jets, spent most of its life bombing its own country — the south, Darfur, the Nuba Mountains — with improvised Antonov bombers as much as with fighters, and since April 2023 has been fighting the Rapid Support Forces in a war of air strikes and drones in which UN investigators, Human Rights Watch and the government tell sharply different stories.
The Sudanese Air Force story: British Provosts, Antonov bombers over the south and Darfur, and a drone war with the RSF
1956–1969: Provosts, Jet Provosts and a British start
The Sudanese Air Force was founded immediately after independence from Britain in 1956, and the British supplied its first aircraft and training, according to the Wikipedia history of the service. The first combat type was modest: in May 1957 the new air force ordered four armed Percival Provost T.53 trainers, two of which were lost in accidents shortly after delivery; three more followed in 1959 and five ex-RAF aircraft after that. A single Hunting President transport arrived in 1958 and two Pembrokes in 1960. Jets came in 1962, when Sudan received four armed Jet Provost T.51s and eight T.52s, both with machine guns for close support; five T.55s were ordered in 1966. This was an air force for internal security, and from the start its most important war was internal: the first southern civil war, which had begun in 1955 and ended with the Addis Ababa Agreement in March 1972. How the air force was used in that war is poorly documented in the sources reached.
1967–1989: Soviet MiGs, Chinese copies and American F-5s
Politics changed the inventory. After the June 1967 Arab-Israeli war Sudan broke with the West and turned to Moscow, and the Library of Congress country study, as summarised on Wikipedia, records that Soviet-made MiG combat aircraft made up the bulk of the air arm from the 1970s to the early 1980s. Relations with Moscow cooled in the late 1970s; Sudan turned to China and Britain, with Arab states paying for Western equipment. In November 1976 the United States agreed to sell arms, starting with transport aircraft financed by Saudi Arabia and followed several years later by F-5 combat aircraft. The mix that resulted was eclectic: in 2004, according to Defense News as reported by Sudan Tribune, the air force still flew nine F-5E/F Tigers, 27 Chinese J-5, J-6 and F-7 fighters and three MiG-23s. In 1991 its two main air bases were at Khartoum and Wadi Sayyidna near Omdurman.
1983–2005: the southern war and the Antonov bomber
The second civil war, from 5 June 1983 to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 9 January 2005, defined the air force’s method. Its most notorious weapon was not a fighter but the Antonov transport, rolling crude bombs out of the cargo door. Human Rights Watch described the government opening its May 1999 offensive in Ruweng County, in the oilfields, with "Antonov bombers and helicopter gunships" before tanks and militia moved in, and reported that oil revenue paid for sixteen new attack helicopters in 2001–2002, "more than tripling" the helicopter fleet. Helicopters, HRW reported, killed 24 civilians at a relief food distribution site in early 2002. Accidents took a heavy toll as well: a C-130H crash on 26 February 1996 killed 91 people, and an An-32 crash on 12 February 1998 killed First Vice-President al-Zubair Muhammad Saleh, according to the Aviation Safety Network records cited on Wikipedia.
2003–2020: Darfur, the UN Panel and a new Russian fleet
Darfur repeated the pattern on a larger scale. On 25 April 2003 rebels raided El Fasher air base and destroyed aircraft on the ground — four Antonovs and helicopter gunships according to the government, seven according to the rebels. The government answered with air power. Human Rights Watch reported in May 2004 that Antonovs dropped "crude but lethal ‘barrel bombs’ filled with metal shards" on Masalit, Fur and Zaghawa villages, and that Antonovs bombed Habila six times on 27 August 2003, killing 24 people. The UN Panel of Experts reported white-painted aircraft at El Fasher, one with UN markings, and mapped more than 100 aerial bombardment incidents; Sudan’s UN ambassador called its report "fabricated" and "big lies". A new generation of combat aircraft arrived at the same time: twelve MiG-29s ordered in December 2001 from December 2003, Su-25s, Mi-24s and, from 2013, ex-Belarusian Su-24s.
2012–2021: Heglig, Yemen and the Egyptian connection
Beyond its borders the air force fought briefly and rarely. In the Heglig crisis of 2012 South Sudan said it had shot down a Sudanese MiG-29 on 4 April and accused Sudan of bombing Bentiu and Rubkona; Khartoum denied that any air raids had taken place, calling the claims fabrications. In March 2015 Sudan joined the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen: President Bashir spoke of three Su-24s and transport aircraft, other officials of four Su-24s, operating from King Khalid Air Base. The Houthis claimed on 28 March 2015 to have shot one down; Sudan denied that any of its aircraft had been hit. At home, the air force moved closer to Egypt, flying the joint Nile Eagles exercises at Merowe in November 2020 and March 2021 amid the dispute over Ethiopia’s Nile dam.
Since April 2023: a war of air strikes and drones
On 15 April 2023 the war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces began, and on the first day the RSF seized Merowe air base, holding Egyptian troops and an Egyptian aircraft until the army retook the base, by then wrecked, on 19 April. Air power was the army’s main advantage over the RSF, and it has been its most criticised weapon. Human Rights Watch has accused the army of indiscriminate air strikes on markets and residential areas, including unguided bombs on Nyala; the army calls such reports "untrue and detached from reality". The RSF has answered with drones, including strikes on Port Sudan from 4 May 2025, and claims to have shot down several transports. According to Sudan War Monitor, the air force has lost nearly all its equipment since 2023, and in January 2026 Reuters reported a 1.5 billion dollar arms package from Pakistan. A UN fact-finding mission said in September 2026 that drone strikes by both sides may amount to war crimes.
The Sudanese Air Force in numbers
Service
- Native name
- القوات الجوية السودانيةAl-Quwwat al-Jawwiya as-Sudaniya, as given in the Wikipedia article; Arabic is the official language of the armed forces. No official air force website was reached
- Founded
- 1956Wikipedia dates the service to independence in 1956; the Provost history describes it as "newly formed" when it placed its first combat aircraft order in May 1957
- Part of
- Sudanese Armed ForcesThe army-led armed forces have been at war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since 15 April 2023
- Headquarters
- KhartoumKhartoum and Wadi Sayyidna were the two main air bases in 1991. Since the war began the government has worked from Port Sudan, which Sudan Tribune calls the temporary capital
- Commander
- Lt. Gen. Ali Ajabna Jamouda Mohamed (unconfirmed)Named only by Wikipedia; no appointment date found
- Wars
- SixThe first and second southern civil wars, Darfur, the 2012 Heglig crisis, Yemen 2015 and the war with the RSF since 2023
Strength
- Personnel
- Not reliably knownWikipedia’s infobox gives 16,000–18,000; no IISS or official figure was reached, and the war since 2023 makes any pre-war figure uncertain
- Combat aircraft
-
- MiG-29SE/UB — 11 before the war (Wikipedia, 2022); losses since 2023 not published
- Su-25 — 12 in Wikipedia’s table; five were seen in Darfur by the UN Panel in 2011
- Su-24M — 4–7 of eight received from Belarus from 2013
- Chinese A-5C, F-7M and F-6, MiG-21 and MiG-23 — listed by Wikipedia from FlightGlobal; serviceability unknown
Sudan War Monitor reported in January 2026 the loss of "nearly all the Air Force’s equipment since 2023". No current verified count exists
- Transport
-
- Il-76 — used as bombers and transports; several lost since 2025
- Antonov An-12, An-26, An-30 and An-32
- C-130H — the last one destroyed by an RSF drone at Wadi Seidna on 21 March 2024
Antonov and Ilyushin transports have also been used as improvised bombers since the 1990s
- Helicopters
-
- Mi-24/Mi-35 — 35 in Wikipedia’s table
- Mi-8/Mi-17/Mi-171 — 24
- IAR 330, Bo 105, Mi-2 and Bell 205/212
Figures from the Wikipedia table, which cites FlightGlobal; how many survive the war is not known
- Drones
-
- Bayraktar Akinci (Turkey)
- Mohajer-6 (Iran)
- Shahpar series (Pakistan), more than 40 reported from July 2026
- Safrouq and other Sudanese-made types
Akinci deliveries are named by the UN fact-finding mission; the other types by Sudan Tribune and Wikipedia
- Trainers
-
- K-8 — 10 more reported in the Pakistani package
- FTC-2000 (JL-9), CJ-6 and Sudanese-built Safat types
Counts in Wikipedia’s table range widely and are not confirmed
Infrastructure
- Main air bases
-
- Wadi Seidna (Wadi Sayyidna), near Omdurman — training centre and transport base
- Khartoum — retaken by the army on 26 March 2025
- Merowe — seized by the RSF on 15 April 2023, retaken on 19 April
- Osman Digna air base, Port Sudan — struck by RSF drones from 4 May 2025
Current squadron dispositions are not published and are not given here
- Airfields held by the RSF
- Nyala, South DarfurSudan Tribune describes Nyala airport as an RSF supply hub with drone hangars and air defences; the army has struck it repeatedly, most recently on 21–22 September 2026
- Exercises with neighbours
- Nile Eagles (Egypt), 2020 and 2021Both held at Merowe; a joint Sudanese-Saudi air exercise was also held at Merowe in 2017
- Wartime losses
- The RSF claims several Antonov and Ilyushin shoot-downs; the army usually blames technical faults. Sudan War Monitor says nearly all equipment has been lost
How the Sudanese Air Force is organised
The air arm of the Sudanese Armed Forces, headquartered in Khartoum, which have fought the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since 15 April 2023. Before the war it flew MiG-29s, Su-25s and ex-Belarusian Su-24s beside older Chinese and Soviet jets, Il-76 and Antonov transports also used as bombers, and Mi-24 and Mi-17 helicopters; Sudan War Monitor reported in January 2026 that nearly all the air force’s equipment had been lost since 2023. Armed drones, among them Turkish Akincis named by the UN fact-finding mission, have since become central, and the government publishes no order of battle or current unit dispositions.
Sudanese Air Force
The air arm of the Sudanese Armed Forces, which have fought the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since 15 April 2023. Wikipedia names Lt Gen Ali Ajabna Jamouda Mohamed as commander, but no appointment date or official announcement confirming him was found, so the name is unconfirmed. The headquarters is in Khartoum; since the war began the government has worked from Port Sudan, which Sudan Tribune calls the temporary capital.
Fighters and attack jets
Before the war the front line was the MiG-29SE/UB, 11 in service in 2022 according to Wikipedia, 12 Su-25s in Wikipedia’s table and four to seven of the eight Su-24Ms received from Belarus from 2013. Losses since 2023 are not published; Sudan War Monitor reported in January 2026 that the air force had lost "nearly all" its equipment since 2023. The squadrons that fly them and their bases are not published.
Older Chinese and Soviet jets
Wikipedia’s table, citing FlightGlobal, still lists A-5C, F-7M and F-6 fighters and a few MiG-21s and MiG-23s; none of these counts was confirmed elsewhere and their serviceability is unknown. The only numbered unit in the sources is No. 2 Fighter-Attack Squadron, which Wikipedia says flew J-7s from Wadi Sayyidna "for a period", without dates.
Drone force
Armed drones have become central since 2023. The UN fact-finding mission named Turkish Akinci drones among the weapons the army had received; Sudan Tribune reports Iranian Mohajer-6s, more than 40 Pakistani Shahpar-series drones delivered from July 2026 and the Sudanese-made Safrouq. The RSF claims several Akincis shot down. Numbers and units are not published.
Transports and improvised bombers
Il-76 and Antonov An-12, An-26, An-30 and An-32 transports. Antonovs rolling bombs out of the cargo door were documented by Human Rights Watch in the south and in Darfur, and the Il-76 has also been used to drop bombs. The last C-130H was destroyed by an RSF drone at Wadi Seidna on 21 March 2024. The RSF claims several Antonov and Ilyushin shoot-downs; the army has blamed technical faults, among them for the An-26 crash at Omdurman on 25 February 2025 that killed at least 46.
Helicopter fleet
Wikipedia’s table, citing FlightGlobal, lists 35 Mi-24/Mi-35 gunships, 24 Mi-8/Mi-17/Mi-171s and IAR 330, Bo 105, Mi-2 and Bell 205/212 utility helicopters; how many survive the war is not known. The UN Panel of Experts saw Mi-24s at El Fasher and Nyala in 2011, both airfields now held by the RSF. Current units and bases are not published.
Trainers and flying training
Wikipedia gives 23 to 33 K-8s, a range too wide to rely on, with FTC-2000, CJ-6 and Sudanese-built Safat trainers. Wadi Seidna has long been the air force’s training centre, and Wikipedia says the air force’s flight school is at Port Sudan’s airport, beside Osman Digna air base. Reuters reported in January 2026 a Pakistani package including ten more K-8s and Super Mushshak trainers; neither government published the contract.
What the Sudanese Air Force flies today
Every type on charge, linked to its Book of Beasts page where one exists. Counts are aircraft on the books, not aircraft available on a given day.
| Type | Role | In service | Since | Units | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mikoyan MiG-29SE and MiG-29UBIn service | Multirole fighter | 2003 | 11 in service in 2022 according to Wikipedia’s operator list; FlightGlobal’s 2026 directory, as tabulated on Wikipedia, gives 10 plus one UB.
MoreWikipedia, summarising Sudan War Monitor, says MiG-29s were lost on the first day of the 2023 war, and Sudan War Monitor says nearly all equipment has gone since; the true number flying is unknown. |
|||
| Sukhoi Su-25 and Su-25UBIn service | Ground attack | 12 in Wikipedia’s table, citing FlightGlobal; the UN Panel of Experts recorded five (tail numbers 201, 204, 205, 207 and 212) in Darfur in 2011. Losses since 2023 not published. | ||||
| Sukhoi Su-24MIn service | Strike aircraft | 2013 | Eight ex-Belarusian aircraft from 2013; estimates of those left range from 4 (Wikipedia’s Su-24 article, 2024) to 7 (the service article’s table). | |||
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23MSIn service | Fighter | Three in 2004 according to Defense News; four in Wikipedia’s current table. Whether any fly is not known. | ||||
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21MIn service | Fighter | Four in Wikipedia’s table, which adds that more could return after engines were bought from Pakistan in August 2025; that claim was not confirmed elsewhere. | ||||
| Nanchang A-5C (Q-5)In service | Ground attack | 20 in Wikipedia’s table, citing FlightGlobal; not confirmed by any other source reached. | ||||
| Chengdu F-7M (J-7)In service | Fighter | 12 in Wikipedia’s table. In 2004 Defense News counted 27 Chinese J-5, J-6 and F-7 fighters together. | ||||
| Shenyang F-6 (J-6)In service | Fighter | Eight in Wikipedia’s table; likely few if any airworthy. | ||||
| Mil Mi-24 and Mi-35In service | Attack helicopter | 35 in Wikipedia’s table; the UN Panel of Experts identified Mi-24s at El Fasher and Nyala in 2011, one of which crashed near El Fasher on 18 April 2011. | ||||
| Mil Mi-8, Mi-17 and Mi-171In service | Transport helicopter | 24 in Wikipedia’s table; three Mi-17s seen in Darfur by the UN Panel in 2011. | ||||
| IAR 330L Puma, MBB Bo 105, Mil Mi-2, Bell 205 and Bell 212In service | Utility helicopters | Wikipedia lists 16 IAR 330L, 20 Bo 105, 6 Mi-2, 2 Bell 205 and 3 Bell 212; none of these counts was confirmed elsewhere. | ||||
| Ilyushin Il-76In service | Heavy transport and improvised bomber | Three in Wikipedia’s table before the losses of 2025. | ||||
| Antonov An-12, An-26, An-30 and An-32In service | Transport and improvised bomber | Wikipedia lists five An-12, one An-26 and four An-30/32; several have been lost since 2023. | ||||
| Baykar Bayraktar AkinciIn service | Armed drone |
MoreThe RSF claimed three shot down over Kordofan and Darfur in early September 2025 and three more between January and August 2026; Sudan War Monitor reported one lost over Nyala. |
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| Qods Mohajer-6In service | Armed drone | The RSF claimed one shot down in 2026. | ||||
| GIDS Shahpar seriesIn service | Armed drone | 2026 | More than 40 reported delivered from July 2026 by Sudan Tribune. | |||
| SafrouqIn service | One-way attack and reconnaissance drone | 2025 | More than 11 were used in one operation near Bara in 2025. | |||
| Hongdu K-8 KarakorumIn service | Jet trainer and light attack | Wikipedia gives 23–33, a range too wide to rely on. |
On order
| Type | Ordered | First delivery | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hongdu K-8 KarakorumOn order | 10 | Part of a package worth about 1.5 billion dollars reported by Reuters in January 2026, citing Pakistani sources; the retired Pakistani air marshal Aamir Masood called it "a done deal".
MoreNeither government published the contract. |
||
| PAC MFI-395 Super MushshakOn order | Trainers in the same reported Pakistani package; number not published. | |||
| PAC/CAC JF-17 ThunderOn order | Reported only as a possible part of the Pakistani package; not confirmed. | |||
| Reconnaissance and kamikaze dronesOn order | 2026 | More than 200 drones in the reported package; Sudan Tribune reported more than 40 Shahpar-series drones delivered from July 2026. |
Every type the Sudanese Air Force has retired
9 types, from the Percival Provost T.53 to the Lockheed C-130H Hercules. Peak figures are airframes taken on charge over the whole service life, not fleet strength on any one date.
| Type | Role | Peak | Served | Replaced by | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lockheed C-130H Hercules | Tactical transport | Number delivered not confirmed in the sources reached; one was lost on 26 February 1996 with 91 dead, and the last was destroyed in March 2024. | ||||
| Percival Provost T.53 | Armed trainer | 12 | 1957– | Jet Provost | Four ordered in May 1957 (two lost soon after delivery), three in 1959 and five ex-RAF aircraft; Wikipedia’s service history gives different batches. | |
| BAC Jet Provost T.51, T.52 and T.55 | Armed jet trainer | 17 | 1962– | Four T.51 and eight T.52 in 1962; five T.55 ordered in 1966. | ||
| Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II | Fighter | MiG-29 | Nine F-5E/Fs were in service in 2004 according to Defense News; the number delivered was not confirmed. | |||
| Shenyang F-5 (J-5) | Fighter | Counted with the J-6 and F-7 in the 27 Chinese fighters of 2004. | ||||
| Hunting President and Percival Pembroke | Light transport | 3 | 1958– | One President in 1958 and two Pembroke C.54s in 1960. | ||
| BAC 167 Strikemaster Mk 90 | Light attack | Listed by Wikipedia as a former type; number and dates not confirmed in the sources reached. | ||||
| Douglas C-47, Antonov An-2, Fokker F27, Shaanxi Y-8 and Pilatus PC-6 | Transport and utility | Listed by Wikipedia as former types; numbers and dates not confirmed. | ||||
| Mil Mi-4 | Transport helicopter | Mi-8 | Listed by Wikipedia as a former type. |
Where the Sudanese Air Force flies from
Black pins are bases the army holds, hollow pins airfields it has lost. Khartoum and Wadi Seidna, north of Omdurman, were the air force’s two main bases in 1991; Wadi Seidna was the way out for Western evacuations in April 2023, and Osman Digna air base, beside the airport of the wartime seat of government at Port Sudan, was struck by RSF drones from 4 May 2025. Nyala has been held by the RSF since October 2023 and El Fasher fell to it on 26 October 2025; residents said in May 2026 that Al-Nujoumi, seized by the RSF in November 2023, had no army presence. Entries with no published aerodrome data carry no pin.
| Base | ICAO | Status | Runway | Units and aircraft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Obeid AirportNorth Kordofan | HSOB | Active | 01/193,000 m | |
| KenanaWhite Nile State | Active | |||
| Khartoum International AirportKhartoum State | HSSK | Active | 18/362,980 m | |
| MeroweNorthern State | HSMN | Active | 02/204,020 m | |
| Osman Digna, Port SudanRed Sea State | HSPN | Active | 16/342,502 m | |
| Wadi SeidnaKhartoum State | HSWS | Active |
|
|
| Al-NujoumiKhartoum State | Closed | |||
| El Fasher AirportNorth Darfur | HSFS | Closed 2025 | 05/232,970 m18/361,527 mgravel | |
| Nyala AirportSouth Darfur | HSNN | Closed 2023 | 04/223,011 m |
No air base matches that search.
Who is stationed where in the Sudanese Air Force
Flying units by base, current units first. The government publishes no order of battle and no current unit dispositions, and none are given here; the only numbered Sudanese unit in the sources is No. 2 Fighter-Attack Squadron, which Wikipedia says flew J-7s from Wadi Sayyidna for a period. The RAF and US Army Air Forces units that used Wadi Seidna in the Second World War are listed and marked as not Sudanese. Where a base’s position rests on Wikipedia alone, the entry says so.
- 46th Ferrying Squadron, US Army Air Forces1942–
- No. 115 (Transport) Wing RAF1944–
- No. 2 Fighter-Attack Squadron
- Chengdu J-7 / F-7
No unit matches that search.
Sudanese Air Force milestones, 1914 to today
Sudan becomes independent from Britain; the air force is founded with British equipment and training.
May: the newly formed air force orders four armed Provost T.53s, its first combat aircraft.
First jets: four Jet Provost T.51s and eight T.52s.
March: the Addis Ababa Agreement ends the first southern civil war (1955–1972).
November: the United States agrees to supply arms — first transport aircraft paid for by Saudi Arabia, later F-5s.
5 June: the second civil war begins; it lasts until the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 9 January 2005.
26 February: a C-130H crash kills 91 people, the air force’s deadliest recorded accident.
12 February: First Vice-President al-Zubair Muhammad Saleh is killed in an An-32 crash.
25 April: Darfur rebels raid El Fasher air base and destroy aircraft on the ground. December: the first two of twelve MiG-29s arrive.
10 May: during the JEM attack on Omdurman the rebels claim a MiG-29 shot down; the government denies it.
Heglig crisis with South Sudan: Juba claims a MiG-29 shot down on 4 April and accuses Sudan of bombing Bentiu; Khartoum denies air raids.
Ex-Belarusian Su-24s begin to arrive.
March: Su-24s join the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen from King Khalid Air Base.
31 August: the Juba agreement ends the Darfur war. 15 November: first Nile Eagles exercise with Egypt at Merowe.
15 April: war with the Rapid Support Forces begins; the RSF seizes Merowe air base, retaken by the army on 19 April.
21 March: the last C-130H is destroyed by an RSF drone at Wadi Seidna.
25 February: An-26 crash at Omdurman kills at least 46. 26 March: the army retakes Khartoum airport. 4 May: RSF drones hit Port Sudan.
January: Reuters reports a 1.5 billion dollar Pakistani arms package. 3 September: UN fact-finding mission says drone strikes may amount to war crimes.
Every war the Sudanese Air Force has fought
Sorties and losses where the record gives them, and an honest blank where it does not.
- First Sudanese Civil War 1955–1972 Wikipedia lists the war among the air force’s engagements; its armed Provosts and Jet Provosts were bought for close support
- Second Sudanese Civil War 1983–2005 Bombed rebel-held areas with Antonov transports and attacked with helicopter gunships and jets, according to Human Rights Watch
- War in Darfur 2003–2020 Bombed villages and rebel areas with Antonovs, helicopter gunships, MiGs and Su-25s, according to Human Rights Watch and the UN Panel of Experts; the government denied targeting civilians
- Heglig crisis 2012 South Sudan accused Sudanese aircraft of bombing its territory; Sudan denied carrying out air raids
- Saudi-led intervention in Yemen 2015–2019 Sent three or four Su-24s and transport aircraft to King Khalid Air Base for the coalition air campaign
Who built the Sudanese Air Force fleet
Every company behind the aircraft on this page has its own page: the story, every type it built, the numbers and the other air forces that fly them.
Current fleet and orders
Mikoyan, Mil, Chengdu, Hongdu, Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, Sukhoi, Antonov, Baykar, Bell, GIDS, IAR, Ilyushin, Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB), Nanchang, Qods Aviation Industries, Shenyang
Former fleet
British Aircraft Corporation, Percival, Douglas, Fokker, Hunting Aircraft, Lockheed, Northrop, Pilatus, Shaanxi
Sudanese Air Force news from Afterburner
Everything MiGFlug’s magazine has published on the Sudanese Air Force and the aircraft it flies. This list refreshes itself — new Afterburner stories appear here automatically.
Everything people ask about the Sudanese Air Force
What is the Sudanese Air Force called in Arabic?
When was the Sudanese Air Force founded?
What aircraft does the Sudanese Air Force fly?
Why did the Sudanese Air Force bomb with Antonov transport planes?
What did the UN find about air attacks in Darfur?
Has the Sudanese Air Force fought outside Sudan?
How has the war with the RSF affected the air force?
Has the Sudanese Air Force been accused of war crimes?
Who supplies drones to the Sudanese army?
Read the aircraft the Sudanese Air Force flew
Every type with a page in the Book of Beasts, in service first, then by the year it left the fleet.
Every fact, checked
- Human Rights Watch: Darfur Destroyed (6 May 2004)Antonov barrel bombs, helicopter gunships and MiGs in Darfur; Habila bombed 27 August 2003, 24 killed.
- Human Rights Watch: Sudan, Oil, and Human Rights (24 November 2003)Antonov and gunship attacks in the oilfields; 16 attack helicopters bought 2001–2002; 24 killed at a relief site in 2002.
- Human Rights Watch: World Report 2025, SudanEvents of 2024: indiscriminate bombing by the army; 10 September 2024 market strike; drone attacks in Bahri.
- Human Rights Watch: World Report 2026, SudanEvents of 2025: army air strikes in Khartoum, Nyala, El Fasher and West Kordofan; RSF drone strikes on power stations.
- Sudan Tribune: Sudan accuses UN panel of fabricating claims on Darfur (20 April 2007)UN Panel findings on white aircraft and aerial bombardment; Sudan’s ambassador’s denial.
- UN Security Council: Panel of Experts on the Sudan, reportsList of Panel reports (for example S/2024/65 of 15 January 2024 and S/2025/239 of 17 April 2025); the report texts could not be retrieved.
- Sudan Tribune: Sudan starts receiving Russian MiG-29s (1 April 2004)Citing Defense News: 12 MiG-29s contracted December 2001, about 370 million dollars, first pair December 2003; prior fleet of F-5E/F, Chinese fighters and MiG-23s.
- Sudan Tribune: Chinese chief of general staff meets Sudanese air force commander (22 December 2005)Air force commander Mohamed Abdelgadir in Beijing.
- Sudan Tribune: Sudanese planes pound Houthi targets in Yemen (2 April 2015)Bashir: three Su-24s and transport aircraft; others say four; King Khalid Air Base.
- Sudan Tribune: Al-Bashir attends end of joint Sudanese-Saudi air force drill (April 2017)Twelve-day joint air exercise at Merowe air base (search-result summary).
- Sudan Tribune: Sudan, Egypt air forces hold new combat drills (31 March 2021)Nile Eagles 2 at Merowe; Nile Eagles 1 on 15 November 2020.
- Sudan Tribune: Antonov crash in Omdurman (25 February 2025)Crash after take-off from Wadi Seidna; army blames technical fault; Major General Bahr Ahmed Bahr killed; RSF Ilyushin claim in South Darfur.
- Sudan Tribune: RSF claims downing of army aircraft in El Fasher (3 April 2025)RSF claim; activists suggest mechanical failure; army reports strikes on RSF sites.
- Sudan Tribune: RSF drones hit Sudan air base, flights suspended at Port Sudan airport (4 May 2025)Osman Digna air base hit; army spokesman Brigadier Nabil Abdallah; Port Sudan the temporary capital.
- Sudan Tribune: Port Sudan hit by drone strikes for third time; airport, oil depots targeted (6 May 2025)Continuing RSF drone strikes on Port Sudan, May 2025.
- Sudan Tribune: Sudanese army denies Nyala bombing as HRW details civilian toll (4 June 2025)HRW findings on unguided bombs on Nyala; army spokesman’s denial; RSF shoot-down of 24 February 2025.
- Sudan Tribune: Sudan’s army, RSF escalate conflict with advanced drone warfare (15 September 2025)Safrouq drone; RSF claims of Akinci shoot-downs; RSF strikes on Khartoum power stations.
- Sudan Tribune: Military plane crashes due to technical fault in Kordofan (4 November 2025)Army: wing malfunction; RSF claims an Ilyushin shot down.
- Sudan Tribune: Foreign support, deadly drone strikes in Sudan war may amount to war crimes, UN says (3 September 2026)UN fact-finding mission to the Human Rights Council; more than 1,000 drone deaths January–11 May 2026 (OHCHR); Kalogi and Ed Daein strikes; Akinci drones; UAE denial.
- Sudan Tribune: Sudanese army resumes air strikes on paramilitary-held South Darfur capital (22 September 2026)Drone strikes on Nyala; Nyala airport as RSF hub.
- Sudan Tribune: Special report: How a high-tech drone war is tearing Sudan apart (23 September 2026)Shahpar deliveries, Akinci and Mohajer-6 losses claimed by the RSF, drone claims by both sides.
- Sudan Tribune: RSF leader accuses Egypt of direct military intervention in Sudan’s war (9 October 2024)Hemedti’s accusation of Egyptian air strikes at Jebel Moya; Egypt’s reply not in the article.
- Sudan War Monitor: Sudan military strikes arms deal with Pakistan as its air war falters (12 January 2026)Reuters report of a 1.5 billion dollar package; loss of nearly all air force equipment since 2023.
- UK hands operations at Wadi Seidna airfield back to Sudanese authorities after successful evacuations (GOV.UK, 2 May 2023)UK Ministry of Defence: more than 20 flights and more than 2,000 people evacuated; the UK Rapid Extraction Task Force; runway repairs by 51 Parachute Squadron Royal Engineers, the first operational runway repair by British forces since 1982; quotation of Major Mark Borley.
- 2,197 people safely evacuated from Sudan by the UK (GOV.UK, 1 May 2023)Flights from Wadi Saeedna ended on the evening of 29 April 2023; 2,197 people evacuated by 1 May 2023.
- Sudanese army accuses RSF of obstructing evacuation operations from Khartoum (Sudan Tribune, 24 April 2023)The United States, Britain, Germany and France used Wadi Seidna; Qatar and Jordan used Port Sudan; each side’s statements.
- Reflections on the 10th anniversary of the operation Long Arm (Sudan Tribune opinion, Mahmoud A. Suleiman, 9 May 2018)Opinion column: JEM forces entered Omdurman on 10 May 2008 from the north through the Wadi Seidna military base.
- Army downs RSF drones targeting military areas in White Nile and Khartoum (Sudan Tribune, 7 June 2024)Army account: drones aimed at Kosti, Kenana air base and the Wadi Seidna military area; two downed at Wadi Seidna.
- RSF drones target military sites in White Nile State, Sudan (Sudan Tribune, 12 July 2024)Local sources: a drone attack on Kenana air base intercepted near Village 5 in Kenana.
- Sudanese army ends RSF’s two-year siege of El Obeid (Sudan Tribune, 25 February 2025)Siege broken on 23 February 2025; the airport "is also sometimes used for military purposes".
- Sudan cuts UAE ties, declares it ‘state of aggression’ (Sudan Tribune, 6 May 2025)Defence Minister Yassin Ibrahim’s statement listing Osman Digna airbase among the targets; no UAE response in the article.
- Sudan army says it countered RSF drone attacks on Port Sudan for sixth day (Sudan Tribune, 9 May 2025)Osman Digna airbase adjacent to Port Sudan International Airport; drones over Kenana airbase south of Rabak.
- RSF drone attacks hit Khartoum airport for third day (Sudan Tribune, 23 October 2025)Drone attacks of 21–23 October 2025 on Khartoum airport and the Wadi Seidna military area.
- RSF take control of Sudanese army base in Jebel Aulia (Sudan Tribune, 20 November 2023)RSF seizure of the Jebel Aulia base, including Al-Nujoumi air base, after fighting from 12 November 2023.
- RSF drones strike southern Khartoum and North Kordofan (Sudan Tribune, 1 May 2026)Residents: Al-Nujoumi airbase struck and "currently devoid of any Sudanese army military presence".
- Sudan accuses UAE and Ethiopia of involvement in Khartoum airport drone strikes (Sudan Tribune, 5 May 2026)The government’s allegations after the strikes of 4 May 2026; Ethiopia’s earlier denial of similar claims; no UAE response in the article.
Figures verified 2026-10-01. Order of Battle pages are regenerated from a single dataset; if a number here disagrees with a Book of Beasts page, this page is the more recent of the two.
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