The Sudanese Air Force () is the

aerial warfare Aerial warfare is the use of military aircraft and other flying machines in warfare. Aerial warfare includes bombers attacking tactical bombing, enemy installations or a concentration of enemy troops or Strategic bombing, strategic targets; fi ...

branch of the

Sudanese Armed Forces The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF; ) are the military forces of the Republic of the Sudan. The force strength has been estimated at personnel in 2011 (by IISS), 200,000 personnel before the current war in Sudan broke out in 2023 (by the CIA), and ...

. It was established in 1956 following Sudan's independence earlier that year, and first saw action in the

First Sudanese Civil War The First Sudanese Civil War (also known as the Anyanya Rebellion or Anyanya I, after the name of the rebels, a term in the Madi language which means 'snake venom') was fought from 1955 to 1972 between the northern part of Sudan and the sout ...

History

The Sudanese Air Force was founded immediately after Sudan gained independence from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1956. The British assisted in the Air Force's establishment, providing equipment and training. Four new Hunting Provost T Mk 51s were delivered for jet training in 1961. In 1958, the Sudanese Air Force's transport wing acquired its first aircraft, a single Hunting President. In 1960 the Sudanese Air Force received an additional four re-furbished RAF Provosts and two more Hunting Presidents. Also in 1960, the transport wing's capability was increased by the addition of two Pembroke C Mk 54s. The SAF gained its first combat aircraft when 12 Jet Provosts with a

close air support Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS requires ...

capability were delivered in 1962. In the 1960s, the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

started supplying the Sudanese Air Force with aircraft. This included supply of Shenyang F-5 fighters (F-5/FT-5 variants).

Air bases

* Kenana Air Base *

Wadi Seidna Air Base Wadi Seidna Air Base () is a military airport north of Khartoum in Sudan. After the Sudan conflict began, the French Special Forces, the U.K. Royal Air Force, the German Luftwaffe, the Royal Netherlands Air Force and the Spanish Air and Spac ...

* Port Sudan Air Base

Equipment

Aircraft

The air force flies a mixture of transport planes, fighter jets and

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

s which are mainly sourced from the

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

. However, not all the aircraft are in a fully functioning state and the availability of spare parts has been limited. In 1991, the two main air bases were at the capital

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

and Wadi Sayyidna near

Omdurman Omdurman () is a major city in Sudan. It is the second most populous city in the country, located in the State of Khartoum. Omdurman lies on the west bank of the River Nile, opposite and northwest of the capital city of Khartoum. The city acts ...

. On 4 April 2001, a Sudanese

Antonov An-24 The Antonov An-24 (Russian/ Ukrainian: Антонов Ан-24) (NATO reporting name: Coke) is a 44-seat twin turboprop transport/passenger aircraft designed in 1957 in the Soviet Union by the Antonov Design Bureau and manufactured by the Kyiv ...

aircraft crashed in Adaril (Adar Yeil, Adar Yale),

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

. The fifteen dead included a general, seven lieutenant generals, three brigadiers, a colonel, a lieutenant colonel and a corporal.Sudan-military-leaders-killed-in-plane-crash
", ''

BreakingNews BNO News is an international news agency headquartered in Tilburg, the Netherlands. It provides news wire services to media organizations. Overview BNO News was founded by Michael van Poppel of the Netherlands in May 2007. The company ran a po ...

'', 4 April 2001, Retrieved 12 April 2010 In 2009, Sudan made a successful deal to buy two different batches of 12

MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twinjet, twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the MiG-29, along with the large ...

Russian fighter jets each. There were 23 MiG-29s in active service as of late 2008."Directory: World Air Forces", ''

Flight International ''Flight International'', formerly ''Flight'', is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", i ...

'', 11–17 November 2008. However, the rebel

Justice and Equality Movement The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM; , ') is an opposition group in Sudan founded by Khalil Ibrahim. Gibril Ibrahim has led the group since January 2012 after the death of Khalil, his brother, in December 2011. The JEM supported the removal ...

claimed to have shot down one MiG-29 with large-caliber machine-gun fire on 10 May 2008, killing the pilot of the plane, a retired Russian Air Force fighter pilot; the Sudanese government denied the allegation. South Sudan also claimed to have shot down a Sudanese MiG-29 during the 2012 border conflict. In mid-2011, members of the UN Panel of Experts on the Sudan documented the following aircraft in Darfur which potentially indicated violations of

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1556 United Nations Security Council resolution 1556, adopted on 30 July 2004, after recalling resolutions 1502 (2003) and 1547 (2004) on the situation in Sudan, the council demanded that the Sudanese government disarm the Janjaweed militia and brin ...

: *Letter dated 24 January 2011 from former members of the Panel of Experts on the Sudan established pursuant to Resolution 1591 (2005) and renewed pursuant to Resolution 1945 (2010) addressed to the Chairman of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to Resolution 1591 (2005) concerning the Sudan, page 30 **Five

Sukhoi Su-25 The Sukhoi Su-25 ''Grach'' ( ('' rook''); NATO reporting name: Frogfoot) is a subsonic, single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Sukhoi. It was designed to provide close air support for Soviet Ground Forces. Th ...

ground attack aircraft (tail numbers 201, 204, 205, 207, 212) **Three Mi-17 transport helicopters (tail numbers 525, 540, 543) **Nine Mi-24 attack helicopters (tail numbers 928, 937, 938, 939, 942, 943, 947, 948 stationed at

El Fasher Al-Fashir or El Fasher () is the capital city of North Darfur, Sudan. It is a city in the Darfur region of southwestern Sudan, northeast of Nyala, Sudan. "Al-Fashir" (description) ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2007, webpage: A historica ...

and Nyala, and an additional Mi-24 which crashed near El Fasher on 18 April 2011.) Satellite imagery also indicates that a total of five other attack helicopters were present at Kutum, N Darfur, in April 2011, and at El Geneima in February 2011, but panel members have not determined whether they were introduced from outside Darfur in addition to those listed above, or moved from within Darfur. In August 2013, pictures showed Su-24's in Sudanese colors, reporting that the aircraft were among the ex Belarusian Air Force Su-24's retired in 2012. Various reports have said that the air force uses Iranian drones such as the Ghods Ababil. Sudanese Air Force MiG-29

Sudanese Air Force Sukhoi Su-25 Onyshchenko-1

Retired

Previous notable aircraft operated were the BAC Jet Provost T55,

Douglas C-47 The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II. During the war the C-47 was used for troo ...

, Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II, BAC 167 Strikemaster Mk.90,

Shaanxi Y-8 The Shaanxi Y-8 or Yunshuji-8 ( zh, c=运-8, p=Yùn Bā) aircraft is a medium-size, medium-range transport aircraft produced by Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation in People's Republic of China, China, based on the Soviet Antonov An-12. It has become on ...

Antonov An-2 The Antonov An-2 (USAF/DoD reporting name Type 22, NATO reporting name Colt) is a Soviet Union, Soviet mass-produced single-engine biplane utility/agricultural aircraft designed and manufactured by the Antonov Design Bureau beginning in 1947. I ...

Fokker F27 Friendship The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner developed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It is the most numerous post-war aircraft manufactured in the Netherlands; the F27 was also one of the most successful Europe ...

Pilatus PC-6 Porter The Pilatus PC-6 Porter is a single-engined STOL utility aircraft designed by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland. First flown in 1959, the PC-6 was produced at Pilatus Flugzeugwerke in Stans, Switzerland. It has been built in both piston engine- ...

, Shenyang J-2, MBB Bo 105CB,

Mil Mi-4 The Mil Mi-4 (USAF/DoD reporting name "Type 36", NATO reporting name "Hound")'' Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1963-1964'', p. 303 is a Soviet transport helicopter that served in both military and civilian roles. Design and development The Mi ...

, and the Agusta-Bell 212 helicopter.

Missiles

Air defense

! style="text-align:center; background:#acc;", Weapon ! style="text-align: center; background:#acc;", Origin ! style="text-align:l center; background:#acc;", Type ! style="text-align:left; background:#acc;", Variant ! style="text-align:center; background:#acc;", In service ! style="text-align: center; background:#acc;", Notes , - , ZPU ,

, Anti-aircraft gun , ZPU , +3200 , ZPU/1/2/4/23 , - ,

AZP S-60 AZP S-60 (, abbrev. АЗП (AZP); literally: ''Automatic anti-aircraft gun S-60'') is a Soviet towed, road-transportable, short- to medium-range, single-barrel anti-aircraft gun from the 1950s. The gun was extensively used in Warsaw Pact, Middle ...

, Autocannon , S-60 , +100 , Both S-60 and Type 59 versions , - ,

KS-19 The KS-19 100mm anti-aircraft gun () is a Soviet anti-aircraft gun that also features efficient capabilities against ground targets. Characteristics The KS-19 is a towed anti-aircraft gun that was specifically designed to excel in ground combat ...

, Anti-aircraft gun ,

, +40 , Status unknown , - ,

M163 VADS The M163 Vulcan Air Defense System (VADS), officially Gun, Air Defense Artillery, Self-Propelled 20-mm, M163, is a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG) primarily used by the United States Army. The M163 provides mobile, short-range air defe ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun , M163 , +8 , , - ,

9K32 Strela-2 The 9K32 Strela-2 (; NATO reporting name SA-7 Grail) is a light-weight, shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile or MANPADS system. It is designed to target aircraft at low altitudes with passive infrared homing, infrared-homing guidance and dest ...

, Man portable surface-to-air missile launcher ,

SA-7 The 9K32 Strela-2 (; NATO reporting name SA-7 Grail) is a light-weight, shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile or MANPADS system. It is designed to target aircraft at low altitudes with passive infrared-homing guidance and destroy them with a ...

, +400 , , - ,

FN-6 FN-6 (; NATO reporting name: CH-SA-10) is a third-generation passive infrared homing (IR) man portable air defence system (MANPADS) built by Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation ...

, Man portable surface-to-air missile launcher ,

, +200 , , - ,

FIM-43 Redeye The General Dynamics FIM-43 Redeye is a man-portable surface-to-air missile system. It uses passive infrared homing to track its target. Production began in 1962 andin anticipation of the Redeye II, which later became the FIM-92 Stingerended in t ...

, Manportable surface-to-air missile , FIM-43 , +125 , , - ,

QW-2 The QW-series () are man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS) developed by the People's Republic of China. QW-1 The QW-1 (NATO reporting name: CH-SA-7) is the initial version. It is likely a copy or derivative of the Soviet 9K38 Igla-1 MANP ...

, Man portable surface-to-air missile launcher ,

, +200 , Sudan operates QW-1/2 , - , Akash ,

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, SAM system , Mk 1 , N/A , , - ,

SA-2 Guideline The S-75 (Russian: С-75; NATO reporting name SA-2 Guideline) is a Soviet-designed, high-altitude air defence system. It is built around a surface-to-air missile with command guidance. Following its first deployment in 1957 it became one of the ...

, Strategic SAM system ,

SA-2 The S-75 (Russian: С-75; NATO reporting name SA-2 Guideline) is a Soviet-designed, high-altitude air defence system. It is built around a surface-to-air missile with command guidance. Following its first deployment in 1957 it became one of the ...

, +90 Launchers , Sudan has operated the S-75 and the Chinese HQ-2 since 1970. , - ,

9K33 OSA The 9K33 ''Osa'' (; English: "wasp"; NATO reporting name SA-8 ''Gecko'') is a highly mobile, low-altitude, short-range tactical surface-to-air missile system developed in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and fielded in 1972. Its export version nam ...

, SAM system ,

SA-8 The 9K33 ''Osa'' (; English: "wasp"; NATO reporting name SA-8 ''Gecko'') is a highly mobile, low-altitude, short-range tactical surface-to-air missile system developed in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and fielded in 1972. Its export version nam ...

, Unknown , , - , HQ-64 ,

, SAM system ,

HQ-6 The HQ-6, also known as LY-60 (NATO reporting name: CH-SA-6), is a family of Chinese air defense missiles developed by the Shanghai Academy of Science and Technology, largely based on the Chinese PL-11 and Italian Selenia (now as Leonardo S. ...

, Unknown , , - ,

HQ-16 The HQ-16 (; NATO reporting name: CH-SA-16) is a Chinese medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). It is derived f ...

, Surface-to-air missile ,

, Unknown

References

Bibliography

* Silvester, John. "Call to Arms: The Percival Sea Prince and Pembroke". ''Air Enthusiast'', No. 55, Autumn 1994, pp. 56–61. {{Authority control Military units and formations established in 1956 1956 establishments in Sudan