Força Aérea do Sudão do Sul

Ordem de batalha · South Sudan

Força Aérea do Sudão do Sul

Força Aérea do Sudão do Sul

The South Sudan Air Force, the air arm of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces, was created on paper in 2008 and flew its first Russian-built Mi-17 helicopters into Juba at the end of 2010, six months before independence; in the civil war that began in December 2013 it bought Mi-24 gunships and L-39 jets, and since 2025 its air strikes in Upper Nile and Jonglei have been documented by UN, human-rights and medical organisations, while the government has never published what it flies.

0Aeronaves de combate
4Bases aéreas ativas
2008Fundada
2Tipos aposentados
PaísSouth SudanFundada2008StatusAtivoSedeJubaComandanteSamson Mabior
A história

The South Sudan Air Force story: Mi-17s before independence, gunships in a civil war and air strikes in Upper Nile and Jonglei

1983–2010: a guerrilla army without aircraft

South Sudan’s armed forces descend from the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, founded on 16 May 1983 when Battalion 105 attacked Sudanese army forces at Bor. No SPLA air arm is recorded in the sources reached for the 22 years of war that followed. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement, signed in Nairobi on 9 January 2005, ended that war and gave the south its own government and army. Three weeks after becoming Sudan’s first vice-president, the SPLA leader John Garang was killed on 30 July 2005 with six colleagues and seven Ugandan crew when the Ugandan presidential Mi-172 helicopter carrying him back from Rwakitura crashed in southern Sudan. The official explanation was poor visibility; President Museveni later suggested there might have been an external factor.

2010–2011: Mi-17s before a flag

According to Wikipedia’s account, the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly formally created an air force on 24 June 2008, though it had no aircraft. In May 2010 the SPLA announced a "nucleus" air force and navy, and in August 2010 ordered Mi-17 helicopters from Kazan in Russia, reported at US$75 million. Eight were delivered to Juba in December 2010 and two more in January 2011, and President Salva Kiir launched the air force on 11 January 2011, during the week of the referendum in which 98.83 per cent voted for secession. South Sudan became independent on 9 July 2011. When the Heglig crisis with Sudan broke out in March 2012, the air war was again one-sided: Sudanese An-26s, MiG-29s and Su-25s bombed Bentiu, Rubkona and the Unity oilfields, and South Sudan claimed to have shot down a MiG-29 on 4 April 2012, which Sudan called a fabrication. No South Sudanese air operations in that crisis are described in the sources reached.

2013–2016: gunships and jets in a civil war

The civil war that began in Juba on 15 December 2013 turned the helicopter force into a combat arm. The UN Panel of Experts on South Sudan reported that the government procured Mi-24 attack helicopters from early 2014, and in January 2016 counted at least three operational with a fourth awaiting payment. The Panel recorded Mi-24 attacks on Shilluk positions around Malakal in 2015, a Mi-24 kept at the Paloich oil-field airstrip, Mi-24s over Wau in April 2016, and two Mi-24s that crossed about 6 km into the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 17 August 2016 in pursuit of SPLM/A-IO forces. Local officials blamed an unidentified gunship for 50 deaths in Mundri West in November 2015, a figure the army did not address. L-39 jets also appeared: the army announced two jet fighters over Juba for Independence Day in July 2016, and the Panel documented L-39s with photographs, though the First Vice-President denied in September 2016 that South Sudan had any.

Who flew them, and who paid: the UN Panel’s findings

How the aircraft were bought, and who flew them, is told differently by different sources. The UN Panel found that the Mi-24s came from the Ukrainian company Motor Sich for US$42.8 million, under a Ukrainian export licence, with a first instalment of US$21 million routed through the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining; it also found a Diamond 42 reconnaissance aircraft operating from Juba military airport from July 2015 and two helicopter hangars contracted for US$16.4 million. The journalist Peter Martell, as summarised on Wikipedia, writes that Erik Prince sold South Sudan three Mi-24s and two L-39s, with Hungarian mercenary pilots, for US$43 million. The two accounts are not reconciled in any source reached. The government has not published its own account of these purchases, and in its replies to the Panel in 2016 it denied having L-39s at all.

2018–2024: the peace deal and a quiet fleet

The war was formally ended by the Revitalised Agreement of 12 September 2018, and the army was renamed the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces in the same month, after a first renaming had been announced on 16 May 2017. A unity government was formed on 22 February 2020, and in June 2020 Maj. Gen. Samson Mabior was named air force commander. For the next four years the air arm was rarely in the news. The UN Panel of Experts kept reporting on arms purchases, but its 2023 final report discussed armoured vehicles and boats, not aircraft. The fleet has never been published by the government; Wikipedia’s table lists six Mi-24/Mi-35s, seven Mi-17s, two An-26s, two L-410s, two AW109s and a Boeing 727, but FlightGlobal’s 2025 directory, as read, has no South Sudan entry, and none of those numbers could be checked against an official or IISS figure.

2025–2026: bombing returns to Upper Nile and Jonglei

Fighting in Nasir in March 2025, during which a UN helicopter evacuating SSPDF soldiers was attacked on 7 March, brought air power back. Uganda sent troops at Juba’s request, and local officials and witnesses blamed both the SSPDF and Uganda for strikes on Nasir that Radio Tamazuj’s sources said killed at least 21 people on 16–17 March. Human Rights Watch found that government incendiary weapons killed at least 58 people in Nasir, Longechuk and Ulang in early March, and that a 3 May 2025 bombardment of Old Fangak, including the MSF hospital, killed seven. Strikes followed in Warrap and Jonglei; MSF facilities at Pieri and Lankien were hit in December 2025 and February 2026, and MSF closed Lankien hospital, saying government forces were believed to be the only party able to bomb from the air. The Upper Nile governor said in December 2025 that areas attacking government forces "will be bombed". The SSPDF has not published its own account of these operations.

According to Wikipedia’s account, the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly formally created an air force on 24 June 2008, though it had no aircraft.South Sudan Air Force · verified 2026-10-01

À primeira vista

The South Sudan Air Force in numbers

Serviço

Nome oficial
Força Aérea do Sudão do SulThe name used by Wikipedia and in the SSPDF’s 2018 structure (ground forces, air force, air defence forces, presidential guard). The SPLA spokesman spoke of the "SPLA Air Force" in 2016. No official SSPDF website could be reached; English is the official language
Fundada
24 June 2008 (on paper); launched 11 January 2011Created by the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly without aircraft; first Mi-17s delivered in December 2010; launched by President Salva Kiir in January 2011. These dates come from Wikipedia; its original source (an archived aviation news page) could not be read
Parte de
South Sudan People’s Defence ForcesThe SPLA was renamed the SSPDF in September 2018, after a renaming to South Sudan Defence Forces had been announced on 16 May 2017. The SPLA itself dates from 16 May 1983
Sede
JubaJuba International Airport (HJJJ) is shared between civil traffic, the military and UNMISS; the UN Panel calls the military side Juba military airport
Comandante
Maj. Gen. Samson Mabior (named June 2020)Not confirmed as still in post in 2026; Wikipedia gives James Kong Kong from December 2017
Commander-in-chief
President Salva Kiir MayarditCommander-in-chief of the SSPDF; South Sudan became independent on 9 July 2011

Força

Pessoal
Wikipedia describes "an unknown number of personnel"; no IISS or government figure was reached
Helicópteros de ataque
  • Mil Mi-24/Mi-35 — 3–6

Sources disagree: the UN Panel counted at least three operational in January 2016 and one more awaited; Peter Martell (via Wikipedia) gives three; Wikipedia’s inventory gives six. Still flying in 2024–2026 according to local reports of gunship flights and strikes

helicópteros de transporte
  • Mil Mi-17, Mi-172 and Mi-17V-5 — about 7 (Wikipedia)
  • AgustaWestland AW109 — 2 (Wikipedia)

Ten delivered in December 2010 and January 2011; Wikipedia’s inventory lists seven, one for VIP transport. No official count

Asa fixa
  • Antonov An-26 — 2
  • Let L-410 Turbolet — 2
  • Boeing 727 (VIP) — 1

All counts are Wikipedia’s; none could be checked against an official or IISS figure. FlightGlobal’s 2025 directory, as read, has no South Sudan entry

Jatos
L-39: status disputedTwo L-39s according to Martell (via Wikipedia); documented by the UN Panel in 2016 and denied by the government. Wikipedia’s service article lists the type as retired, its L-39 article as still in service
Drones
Reported, type unknownA drone was among the aircraft the Fangak commissioner described on 3 May 2025, and the Vice President referred to drones on 8 May 2025. No type, number or supplier has been published

Infraestrutura

Base principal
Aeroporto Internacional de JubaRunway 13/31, 3,100 m, elevation 461 m (Wikipedia, not the AIP). Two helicopter hangars were contracted for US$16.4 million according to the UN Panel
Forward airstrips
  • Paloich (Upper Nile) — Mi-24 kept there in 2015 (UN Panel)
  • Bor — gunship stopover, October 2024
  • Malakal — gunship operations 2015 and 2024

Airfields named in connection with air-force aircraft in the sources reached; none is a dedicated air base

UN arms monitoring
UN Panel of Experts on South SudanThe Panel reported the Mi-24, L-39 and Diamond 42 purchases in 2016–2017; its 2023 final report records no aircraft
Foreign air support
UgandaUgandan troops deployed at South Sudan’s request in March 2025 (HRW); the Uganda People’s Defence Air Force flew aid airdrops to Nasir in May 2025, and local officials attributed some March 2025 strikes to Ugandan aircraft

Estrutura

How the South Sudan Air Force is organised

The air arm of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces, one of four branches beside the ground forces, the air defence forces and the presidential guard, has its headquarters and main base at Juba International Airport. Mi-24 gunships, three to six depending on the source, are its combat aircraft, beside about seven Mi-17 transport helicopters; the L-39 jets the UN Panel of Experts documented in 2016 were denied by the government, and their status is disputed. The government has never published its fleet, its units or which aircraft are based where.

SM

General de DivisãoSamson MabiorAir Force Commander · in office since 2020
Força Aérea do Sudão do Sul
Sede

Força Aérea do Sudão do Sul

Juba

The air arm of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces, created on paper on 24 June 2008 and launched by President Salva Kiir on 11 January 2011, with its headquarters at Juba. Maj. Gen. Samson Mabior was named Air Force Commander in June 2020; no later appointment was found, so whether he is still in post in 2026 is not confirmed. The President is commander-in-chief.

Helicópteros de ataque

Mi-24 gunships

Juba; Paloich in 2015

Bought from early 2014, according to the UN Panel of Experts, which traced the purchase to Motor Sich of Ukraine for US$42.8 million; Peter Martell, as summarised on Wikipedia, has Erik Prince selling three Mi-24s and two L-39s with Hungarian pilots for US$43 million. Counts range from three to six, none official. The Panel found one kept at the Paloich oil field in 2015; gunship strikes were reported again in 2024–2026, without the types being identified.

helicópteros de transporte

Mi-17 and AW109 helicopters

Juba

The air force’s first aircraft: ten Mi-17s ordered from Kazan in August 2010 and delivered to Juba in December 2010 and January 2011. Wikipedia’s inventory lists about seven, one used for VIP transport, and two AW109s; none of these counts is official.

Transporte

Aeronaves de transporte de asa fixa

Wikipedia’s inventory lists two An-26s, two L-410s and a VIP Boeing 727. Delivery dates are not published, none of the numbers could be checked against an official or IISS figure, and FlightGlobal’s 2025 directory, as read, has no South Sudan entry.

Jatos

L-39 jets

Status disputed. The UN Panel documented L-39s with photographs in 2016, two according to Martell, and the army announced two jet fighters for the Independence Day air show that July; the First Vice-President denied on 28 September 2016 that South Sudan had any. Wikipedia lists the type as retired in one article and in service in another.

Reconnaissance and drones

Diamond DA42 and drones

Juba (DA42, from 2015)

The UN Panel observed a Diamond 42 at Juba military airport from July 2015, "providing advanced integrated aerial reconnaissance and targeting capabilities"; whether it still flies was not found. The Fangak commissioner described a drone among the aircraft that struck Old Fangak on 3 May 2025, but no type, number or supplier has been published.


Em serviço

What the South Sudan Air Force flies today

Cada tipo de cobrança, com link para sua página no Livro das Feras, quando houver. Os números indicam as aeronaves registradas, não as aeronaves disponíveis em um determinado dia.

Tipo Papel Em serviço Desde Unidades Notas
Mil Mi-24 / Mi-35Em serviço Helicóptero de ataque 2014 3–6.

Mais

The UN Panel counted at least three operational in January 2016 with a fourth awaiting payment; Peter Martell (via Wikipedia) gives three; Wikipedia’s inventory gives six, as Mi-35s; Wikipedia’s SSPDF article says four were bought from Ukraine in 2015. No official figure.

Mil Mi-17, Mi-172 and Mi-17V-5Em serviço Helicóptero de transporte e VIP 7 2010 Wikipedia’s inventory figure; ten were delivered in 2010–2011. Not confirmed by an official or IISS source.
AgustaWestland AW109Em serviço helicóptero utilitário leve 2 Wikipedia’s inventory figure; not corroborated.
Antonov An-26Em serviço Transporte 2 Wikipedia’s inventory figure; not corroborated.
Deixe o Turbolet L-410Em serviço Transporte leve 2 Wikipedia’s inventory figure; not corroborated.
Boeing 727Em serviço transporte VIP 1 Wikipedia’s inventory figure; not corroborated.
Diamante DA42Em serviço Reconnaissance and targeting 2015 Number not stated; seen from July 2015.
Mi-177
AW1092
An-262
L-4102
B7271

Anteriormente operado

Every type the South Sudan Air Force has retired

2 types, from the Aero L-39 Albatros to the Aero L-39 Albatros. Os números máximos representam as aeronaves incorporadas à frota ao longo de toda a sua vida útil, e não a força total da frota em uma data específica.

Tipo Papel Pico Servido Substituído por Notas
Aero L-39 Albatros Jato de treinamento e ataque leve 2 2016– Two according to Peter Martell (via Wikipedia); the army announced two jet fighters for the July 2016 Independence Day flypast.
Beechcraft 1900 Transporte leve Número não encontrado.

bases aéreas

Where the South Sudan Air Force flies from

Os pinos pretos indicam bases ativas; nenhum dos aeródromos listados foi fechado. Juba International Airport, where the first Mi-17s were delivered in December 2010, is the only base the sources describe, its military side sharing one runway with airliners and the UN mission. Malakal, Paloich and Bor are civil or oil-field airstrips named in reports of the air force’s gunships; the UN Panel found a Mi-24 kept at Paloich in 2015 to guard the oil installations. Coordinates come from Wikipedia, as the South Sudan AIP could not be reached.

Base aérea ativa Fechado ou reservadoClique em um marcador para abrir a página inicial.
Base OACI Status Pista Unidades e aeronaves
Bor AirportJonglei HSBR Ativo 01/191,280 msujeira
Aeroporto Internacional de JubaEquatória Central HJJJ Ativo 13/313.100 m
  • South Sudan Air Force (headquarters and helicopter force): Mil Mi-17, Mil Mi-24, Diamond DA42 (seen from July 2015)
Malakal AirportUpper Nile HSSM Ativo 05/232.000 m
Paloich AirportUpper Nile (Melut County) HSFA Ativo 01/192.500 m

Nenhuma base aérea corresponde a essa busca.


Ordem de batalha

Who is stationed where in the South Sudan Air Force

Unidades voadoras por base, unidades atuais primeiro. South Sudan publishes no order of battle: no squadron names or aircraft counts by base appear in the sources, so the air force at Juba is listed as one headquarters and helicopter force. The Mi-24 detachment the UN Panel found at Paloich in 2015 is listed as former because no later report of it was found.

Aeroporto Internacional de Juba · HJJJSouth Sudan Air Force headquarters
South Sudan Air Force (headquarters and helicopter force)Air force headquarters and helicopter units · active
Mil Mi-17, Mil Mi-24, Diamond DA42 (seen from July 2015)
Paloich Airport · HSFADar Petroleum Operating Company
SPLA Mi-24 detachment2015–
Mil Mi-24

Nenhuma unidade corresponde a essa pesquisa.


Linha do tempo

South Sudan Air Force milestones, 1914 to today

1983

16 May: the Sudan People’s Liberation Army is founded when Battalion 105 attacks Sudanese army forces at Bor. No SPLA air arm is recorded for the 1983–2005 war.

2005

9 January: Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in Nairobi. 30 July: John Garang is killed with 13 others in the crash of the Ugandan presidential Mi-172.

2008

24 June: the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly formally creates an air force, still without aircraft (Wikipedia).

2010

May: the SPLA announces a nucleus air force. August: Mi-17s ordered from Kazan, reported at US$75 million. December: eight delivered to Juba.

2011

January: two more Mi-17s arrive; President Kiir launches the air force on 11 January during the independence referendum. 9 July: independence.

2012

Heglig crisis with Sudan: Sudanese aircraft bomb Bentiu and Rubkona; South Sudan claims a MiG-29 shot down on 4 April, which Sudan denies.

2013

15 December: civil war begins in Juba. 27 December: Riek Machar accuses Ugandan aircraft of bombing his forces at Bor.

2014

The government begins buying Mi-24 attack helicopters, according to the UN Panel of Experts.

2015

Mi-24s strike opposition positions around Malakal; 18 May: the government denies an opposition claim to have shot one down. July: a Diamond 42 begins flying from Juba. November: 50 reported killed in a gunship attack in Mundri West.

2016

April: Mi-24s over Wau. 7–9 July: two jets fly over Juba for Independence Day. 17 August: two Mi-24s cross into the DRC. 28 September: the First Vice-President denies South Sudan has L-39s.

2017

16 May: renaming to South Sudan Defence Forces announced.

2018

12 September: the Revitalised Agreement ends the civil war. September: the army becomes the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces.

2020

22 February: unity government formed. June: Maj. Gen. Samson Mabior named Air Force Commander.

2024

July: an Upper Nile MP complains of daily gunship flights over Nasir. 20 October: a gunship makes an emergency landing in Bor; the army denies it.

2025

March: fighting in Nasir, a UN helicopter attacked on 7 March, and air strikes in Upper Nile; Ugandan troops deploy. 3 May: Old Fangak and its MSF hospital bombed. December: strikes on Pieri and Lankien.

2026

3 February: bomb hits the MSF hospital warehouse at Lankien; MSF closes the hospital in April. June: ceasefire monitors investigate reported bombing in Panyijiar.


Histórico de combate

Every war the South Sudan Air Force has fought

Missões e perdas onde constam nos registros, e um espaço em branco honesto onde não constam.

3conflitos
2012Primeiro
0Aeronave perdida
0Morto
  • Heglig crisis 2012 No South Sudanese air operations are described in the sources reached; the air war was flown by Sudan
  • South Sudanese Civil War 2013–2018 Close air support and attack by Mi-24 gunships, with L-39 jets and a Diamond 42 reconnaissance aircraft reported; Mi-17 transport
  • Upper Nile and Jonglei fighting 2025– Air strikes by gunship helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft against opposition-held areas, with drones reported

Abra o registro completo do combate


Os fabricantes

Who built the South Sudan Air Force fleet

Cada empresa responsável pelas aeronaves desta página tem sua própria página: a história, cada tipo que construiu, os números e as outras forças aéreas que as operam.


Perguntas e Respostas

Everything people ask about the South Sudan Air Force

Does South Sudan have an air force?
Yes. The South Sudan Air Force is the air arm of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces. It was created on paper in 2008 and received its first Mi-17 helicopters in December 2010. It flies attack and transport helicopters and a few transport aircraft from Juba; the government has never published a fleet list.
What is the official name of the South Sudan air force?
Wikipedia’s article is titled South Sudan Air Force and says that is its official name; it is one of the four branches of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces. Before 2018 it was referred to as the SPLA Air Force, the name the army spokesman used in July 2016. English is South Sudan’s official language, and no official SSPDF website could be reached to confirm the spelling.
What aircraft does South Sudan fly?
Wikipedia lists six Mi-24/Mi-35 attack helicopters, seven Mi-17 transport helicopters, two AW109s, two An-26s, two L-410s and a Boeing 727. None of these numbers is official: the UN Panel of Experts counted at least three working Mi-24s in January 2016.
Does South Sudan have fighter jets?
Not fighters, but it has had at least two L-39 Albatroz jet trainers. The UN Panel of Experts documented them with photographs in 2016, while the First Vice-President denied they existed. Whether they still fly is unclear: Wikipedia lists them both as retired and as in service in different articles.
Where did South Sudan get its Mi-24 gunships?
The UN Panel of Experts found that they were bought from the Ukrainian company Motor Sich for US$42.8 million, with the first US$21 million paid through the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining. The journalist Peter Martell, as summarised on Wikipedia, writes that Erik Prince sold three Mi-24s and two L-39s with Hungarian pilots for US$43 million. The government has not published its own account.
Did the air force fight in the 2013–2018 civil war?
Yes. The UN Panel recorded Mi-24 attacks around Malakal in 2015, over Wau in April 2016 and across the border into the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 17 August 2016. Local officials blamed a gunship for 50 deaths in Mundri West in November 2015. Opposition forces claimed to have shot down a gunship at Malakal in May 2015, which the government denied.
Has South Sudan bombed hospitals?
Human Rights Watch found that government forces bombarded an MSF hospital and the market in Old Fangak on 3 May 2025, killing seven people. MSF facilities at Pieri and Lankien were hit in December 2025 and February 2026; MSF said it could not independently confirm responsibility for the Lankien strike but that government forces were believed to be the only party with aerial bombing capability. The government did not comment on those strikes.
Does Uganda fly combat missions in South Sudan?
Uganda deployed troops at South Sudan’s request in March 2025, according to Human Rights Watch, and its air force flew aid airdrops to Nasir in May 2025. Local officials in Nasir attributed some March 2025 air strikes to Ugandan aircraft, and in December 2013 Riek Machar accused Uganda of bombing his forces at Bor. Neither government has published details of Ugandan air operations.
Who commands the South Sudan Air Force?
Maj. Gen. Samson Mabior was named Air Force Commander in June 2020, according to Eye Radio. No later appointment was found, so it is not confirmed that he still holds the post in 2026. President Salva Kiir is commander-in-chief.
Where is the South Sudan Air Force based?
At Juba International Airport, which it shares with civil traffic and the UN mission; the UN Panel reported two helicopter hangars contracted there for US$16.4 million. Aircraft also operate from airstrips such as Paloich, Bor and Malakal.



Fontes e Leitura Complementar

Todos os fatos foram verificados.

Dados verificados em 01/10/2026. As páginas da Ordem de Batalha são geradas a partir de um único conjunto de dados; se algum número aqui divergir de uma página do Livro das Feras, esta página será considerada a mais recente.

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