The Sudanese Air Force () is the aerial warfare branch of the 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.
History The Sudanese Air Force was founded immediately after Sudan gained independence from the United Kingdom 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 capability were delivered in 1962. In the 1960s, the Soviet Union and China began to supply the Sudanese Air Force with aircraft. This included a supply of Shenyang F-5 fighters (F-5/FT-5 variants).
Air bases
Wadi Seidna Air Base Kenana Air Base Merowe Air Base Osman Digna Air Base Al-Nujoumi Air Base El Obeid Air Base Port Sudan Military Airport Khartoum Air Base Atbara Air Base Nyala Airport El Fasher Airport Geneina Airport Dongola Airport Kassala Airport Damazin Airport Kadugli Airport Heglig Airstrip Dilling Airport
Equipment Aircraft The air force flies a mixture of transport planes, fighter jets and helicopters which are mainly sourced from the Soviet Union/Russia and China. 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 and Wadi Sayyidna near Omdurman.Library of Congress Sudan Country Study , 1991, accessed March 2009
On 4 April 2001, a Sudanese Antonov An-24 aircraft crashed in Adaril (Adar Yeil, Adar Yale), Sudan. 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, 4 April 2001, Retrieved 12 April 2010
In 2009, Sudan made a successful deal to buy two different batches of 12 MiG-29 Russian fighter jets each. There were 23 MiG-29s in active service as of late 2008."Directory: World Air Forces", Flight International, 11–17 November 2008. However, the rebel Justice and Equality Movement 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:
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 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 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.
Current inventory It is difficult to establish the current aircraft inventory of the Sudanese Air Force because of the ongoing civil war and because reliable public open sources detailing the Air Force's inventory are hard to find (if they exist at all). This lack of good sources was a problem even before the current civil war (secrecy concerning Air Force matters has been in place in Sudan for a long time) and the civil war has naturally only made it harder to establish a full and true picture of the state of the Air Force (equipment-wise and otherwise). The table below listing manned aircraft of the Sudanese air force is almost totally based on the World Air Forces 2026 publication by FlightGlobal. There are differing estimates of the state of the Air Force to that of World Air Forces 2026; for example, Sudan War Monitor internet publication, which follows the current civil war, published on 12 January 2026 a writing that says the following of the Sudanese Air Force: "... loss of nearly all the Air Force’s equipment since 2023", "Sudan’s Air Force lost many of its MiG-29 fighter jets on the first day of the war ...", "In the following months, the RSF shot down many of the Air Force’s remaining jets ...", " ... Antonov and Ilyushin cargo planes ... lasted somewhat longer, but sustained losses in 2024-2025, ending a two-year bombing campaign ...", "Since last year, Sudan’s Air Force has lost a substantial proportion of its newly acquired Turkish drone fleet", "... the Ilyushin bombers until they were all shot down". So the state and inventory of the Sudanese Air Force can be described as unknown and uncertain, and will probably remain so at least until the current civil war ends.
Aircraft Origin Type Variant In service Notes Combat aircraft MiG-29 Soviet Union Multirole fighter jet MiG-29SE 10 In addition, 1 MiG-29UB is used for conversion training and listed under "Trainer aircraft" in this table (so total Mig-29 inventory is 11). MiG-23 Soviet Union Fighter MiG-23MS 43 fighters one trainer MiG-21 Soviet Union Fighter MiG-21M 4 (up to 31 could be reintroduced into service) 4 listed by World Air Forces 2026. 15–31 to be operational again after new engines were bought from Pakistan in August 2025. Sukhoi Su-25 Soviet Union Attack Su-25K 12 In addition, 3 Su-25UB are used for conversion training and listed under "Trainer aircraft" in this table (so total Su-25 inventory is 12) Sukhoi Su-24 Soviet Union Attack Su-24M 7 Delivered from Belarus in 2013 Nanchang Q-5 China Attack A-5C 20 Chengdu J-7 China Fighter F-7M 12 Shenyang J-6 China Fighter F-6C 8 Transport Antonov An-12 Soviet Union Transport An-12BK 5 Antonov An-26 Soviet Union Transport An-26B 1 One crashed in 2025. Antonov An-30 Soviet Union Transport An-30/32 4 C-130 Hercules United States Transport C-130H 1 A C-130H was destroyed after taxiing on the runway of Wadi Seidna Air Base by a kamikaze drone operated by the Rapid Support Forces in March 2024 during the 2023 Sudanese civil war DHC-5 Buffalo Canada Transport DHC-5D 1 Ilyushin Il-76 Soviet Union Transport Il-76TD 3 Used for bombing militia positions and transport. On 9 December 2025 an IL-76 crashed. RSF shot down one IL-76 on 4 November 2025. Helicopters Mil Mi-24 Russia Attack Mi-35 35 Mil Mi-8 Soviet Union Utility/Attack Mi-8/17/171 24Bo 105GermanyAttack Bo 10520 IAR 330 Romania Utility IAR 330L 16Mil Mi-2Soviet UnionUtilityMi-26 Bell 205 United States Utility Bell 205 2 Bell 212 United States Utility Bell 212 3 Trainer aircraft Guizhou JL-9 China Jet trainer FTC-2000 6 Hongdu JL-8 / K-8 Karakorum China / Pakistan Jet trainer / Light attack K-8E / K-8S 23~33 10 K-8 Karakorum from Pakistan ordered in August 2025, these maybe (or maybe not) included in the 23 MiG-29 Soviet Union Multirole fighter jet MiG-29UB 1 In addition, 10 MiG-29SE are used as combat aircraft and listed under "Combat aircraft" in this table (so total Mig-29 inventory is 11) Sukhoi Su-25 Soviet Union Attack Su-25UB 3 In addition, 9 Su-25K are used as combat aircraft and listed under "Combat aircraft" in this table (so total Su-25 inventory is 12)Safat 01SudanTrainerSafat-111locally manufactured, design inspired by the Piper PA-18Safat 02SudanTrainerSafat-220locally assembled AK1-3Safat 03SudanTrainerSafat-36~12Sudanese locally manufactured Variant of the Utva-75CJ-6ChinaTrainerPT-617~20Used mainly by the High Level Aviation Academy of Sudan Super Mushshak Pakistan Trainer MFI-395 unknown From Pakistan ordered in August 2025 Presidential aircraft Antonov An-72/An-74 Soviet Union Presidential transport An-74/72 2 One An-72 and one An-74 were destroyed in the ongoing civil war Dassault Falcon 50 France Presidential 50 2 Dassault Falcon 20F France Presidential 20F 1 Airbus A320-200 France Presidential 200 1 Leased from Etihad
Aircraft Origin Type Variant In service Notes UAVMohajer-6IranUCAVDJI MavicSudan / Ukraine Loitering munitionManufactured locallyShahpar-2PakistanUCAVSafaroogSudanLoitering munitionManufactured locallyYIHA-IIIPakistanreconnaissance/loitering muntionMR-10KPakistanreconnaissanceAbabel-5SudankamikazeManufactured locallyHESA AbabilIranUCAVManufactured locallyZagil-3MSudanUCAVManufactured locallyKamin-25SudanLoitering munitionManufactured locally (launched from Zagil-3M)CASC RainbowChinaUCAVCAIG Wing Loong IIChinaUCAVBayraktar TB2TurkeyUCAV Baykar Bayraktar Akıncı Turkey FH-97 (Feihong)ChinaUCAVCaptured from UAE-supplied RSF
Retired Previous notable aircraft operated were the BAC Jet Provost T55, Douglas C-47, Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II, BAC 167 Strikemaster Mk.90, Shaanxi Y-8, Antonov An-2, Fokker F27 Friendship, Pilatus PC-6 Porter, Shenyang J-2, MBB Bo 105CB-2, and Mil Mi-4.
Missiles MissileOriginTypeVariantIn serviceNotes AAM R-77 Russia air-to-air BVR missileR-77 N/A R-73 (missile) Russia Short-range air-to-air missileR-73 (missile) N/A R-27 (missile) Russia air-to-air BVR missileR-27 (missile) N/A K-13 (missile) Russia Short-range air-to-air missileK-13 (missile) N/A PL-8 (missile) China Short-range air-to-air missilePL-8 (missile) 40
Air defense WeaponOriginTypeVariantIn serviceNotesHQ-9ChinaSAM systemHQ-9UnknownHQ-6ChinaSAM systemHQ-6UnknownWS-1ChinaMLRSWS-1BUnknownWS-2ChinaMLRSWS-2UnknownPHL-03ChinaMLRSPHL-03UnknownHİSAR-ATurkeySAM systemHİSAR-AUnknownrsf bombed one in kordofan ZPU Soviet Union Anti-aircraft gun ZPU +3200 ZPU/1/2/4/23 AZP S-60 Soviet Union AutocannonS-60 +100 Both S-60 and Type 59 versions KS-19 Soviet Union Anti-aircraft gunKS-19 +40 Status unknown M163 VADS United States Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun M163 +8 9K32 Strela-2 Soviet Union Man portable surface-to-air missile launcherSA-7 +400 FN-6 China Man portable surface-to-air missile launcherFN-6 +200 FIM-43 Redeye United States Manportable surface-to-air missileFIM-43 +125 QW-2 China Man portable surface-to-air missile launcherQW-2 +200 Sudan operates QW-1/2AkashIndiaSAM systemMk 1N/A SA-2 Guideline Soviet Union Strategic SAM systemSA-2 +90 Launchers Sudan has operated the S-75 and the Chinese HQ-2 since 1970. 9K33 OSA Soviet Union SAM systemSA-8 Unknown HQ-64 China SAM systemHQ-6 Unknown HQ-16 China Surface-to-air missileHQ-16 Unknown
Accidents and incidents 26 February 1996: A Lockheed C-130H Hercules of the Sudanese Air Force crashed. The aircraft was destroyed and 91 occupants died. 12 February 1998: An Antonov An-32B of the Sudanese Air Force crashed. The aircraft was destroyed and 26 people died. Among the victims were several government officials and First Vice President al-Zubair Muhammad Saleh. 3 June 1999: An Antonov An-32 of the Sudanese Air Force crashed. The aircraft was destroyed and 50 occupants died.