Wadi Seidna Air Base () is a military airport north of

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 ...

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 ...

. After the Sudan conflict began, the French Special Forces, the U.K.

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

, the German

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

, the

Royal Netherlands Air Force The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF; , "Royal Air Force") is the military aviation branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It was created in 1953 to succeed its predecessor, the ''Luchtvaartafdeling'' () of the Dutch Army, which was founded ...

and the

Spanish Air and Space Force The Spanish Air and Space Force () is the Aerial warfare, aerial and space warfare branch of the Spanish Armed Forces. History Early stages Hot air balloons have been used with military purposes in Spain as far back as 1896. In 1905, with th ...

began evacuating civilians through the airbase.

History

The air base's history goes back to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The U.S. Army Air Forces' 46th Ferrying Squadron,

Air Transport Command Air Transport Command (ATC) was a United States Air Force unit that was created during World War II as the strategic airlift component of the United States Army Air Forces. It had two main missions, the first being the delivery of supplies a ...

, was activated at the base on 2 December 1942. The squadron was assigned to the 13th Ferrying Group which was responsible for a region spanning El Geneine, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, now in

West Darfur West Darfur State ( Wilāyat Ḡarb Dārfūr), historically Dar Masalit (), is one of the states of Sudan, and one of five comprising the Darfur region. Prior to the creation of two new states in January 2012, it had an area of 79,460 km² ...

, to

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

(now

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

), and from

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, to

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. The squadron was responsible for the aerial transportation of personnel, supplies and mail throughout this area. The death of Oliver Rixham, a RAF officer in 1942, serving at the base, led to research which identifies some additional information on activity. Several articles (March-June 2015) by RAF service members during WW2 can be found; one account refers to the capture of two civilian Italian transport aircraft when war with Italy began - as they shared the airfield. Two sources give different details about the stay of No. 114 Maintenance Unit RAF at Wadi Seidna. National Archives say that No. 114 Maintenance Unit was formed at Wadi Seidna in April 1942 but then disbanded in February 1943. There are indications that the field was used at times during the war and afterwards for 'Tropical Trials' of RAF aircraft. On 7 May 1944, No 115 (Transport) Wing RAF was established at the station by redesignating No 2 (Middle East) Ferry Control within No. 216 Group RAF. By 1946, the field was no longer in use.

Current status

The base now hosts elements of the

Sudanese Air Force The Sudanese Air Force () is the air force, aerial warfare branch of the Military of Sudan, Sudanese Armed Forces. It was established in 1956 following Sudan's independence earlier that year, and first saw action in the First Sudanese Civil War. ...

. The runway is in the desert west of the

Nile River The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the longest river i ...

. The Khartoum

VOR-DME In radio navigation, a VOR/DME is a radio beacon that combines a VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) with a distance-measuring equipment (DME). The VOR allows the receiver to measure its Bearing (navigation), bearing to or from the beacon, while the D ...

(Ident: KTM) is located south of the air base.

Sudanese civil war

During the opening stages of the

Sudanese civil war (2023–present) A civil war began on 15 April 2023 between two rival factions of the military government of Sudan. The conflict involves the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), c ...

, the base became a hub of evacuation efforts for foreign citizens, which led to the facility being used for landing and takeoff by foreign militaries as well as a gathering point for foreign evacuees and their dependents. From the night of April 22-23, 2023, an airlift was set up by the

French army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

during '' Operation Sagittaire''. A C-130 Hercules arriving from

Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...

landed with night vision binoculars in the air base; the French commandos on board secured the base after negotiations with the Sudanese military. Three A400M Atlas also followed from Djibouti and evacuated French and foreign nationals. As part of the evacuation of British nationals from Sudan, elements of the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...

arrived at the airfield, with agreement of the Sudanese government, to conduct an airlift evacuation using RAF

Boeing C-17 Globemaster III The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) between the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two previ ...

Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

and

Airbus A400M Atlas The Airbus A400M AtlasNamed after the Greek mythological figure. is a European four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. It was designed by Airbus Military, now Airbus Defence and Space, as a tactical airlifter with strategic capa ...

aircraft. The Spanish, Dutch and German air forces also deployed transport planes for their nationals. However, senior German officials accused the British of causing delays in rescue efforts, telling the BBC that British forces landed without 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 ...

's permission at the airbase, which angered the SAF that they refused access to the facility. According to one source, the British had to pay the SAF to allow them access, which resulted in at least half a day's delay for German rescuers. The

UK Ministry of Defence The Ministry of Defence (MOD or MoD) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for implementing the defence policy set by the government and serves as the headquarters of the British Armed Forces. ...

denied these reports, calling them "complete nonsense". On 21 May 2023, residents in Khartoum said heavy fighting occurred as the

Rapid Support Forces The Rapid Support Forces (RSF; ) is a paramilitary force formerly operated by the government of Sudan. The RSF grew out of, and is primarily composed of, the Janjaweed militias which previously fought on behalf of the Sudanese government. RSF ...

tried to advance towards the airbase. RSF fighters in about 20 trucks positioned east of the Nile were trying to cross a bridge to reach the airfield, but were met by heavy artillery from the SAF.

Accidents and incidents

On 25 February 2025, an SAF

Antonov An-26 The Antonov An-26 (NATO reporting name: Curl) is a twin-engined turboprop civilian and military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the Soviet Union from 1969 to 1986.Gordon, Yefim. Komissarov, Dmitry & Sergey. "Antonov's Turboprop Twins ...

transport aircraft crashed into a residential area during takeoff from the base, killing at least 46 people including Major-General Bahr Ahmed, a senior commander in Khartoum.

References

External links