Sudanese Air Force: Difference between revisions

Sudanese Air Force
Sudanese Air Force
القوّات الجوّيّة السودانيّة; Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya As-Sudaniya;
	Sudanese Air Force roundel
Gegründet	1956; 68 years ago
Land	Sudan
Typ	Air force
Role	Aerial warfare
Size	13,000 personnel
Part of	Sudanese Armed Forces
Equipment	166 aircraft
Engagements	First Sudanese Civil War; Second Sudanese Civil War; Darfur War; 2015 intervention in Yemen; War in Sudan (2023-present);
Commanders
Air Force Commander	Essam al-Din Saeed
Insignia
Fin flash
Aircraft flown
Attack	Su-24, Su-25, Nanchang Q-5
Fighter	MiG-29, MiG-23, MiG-21, Chengdu J-7, Shenyang J-6
Helicopter	Mil Mi-8, Mil Mi-17, Bell 205, Bell 212
Attack helicopter	Mil Mi-24, Mil Mi-35
Trainer	Hongdu JL-8, Guizhou JL-9
Transport	Il-76, An-12, An-26, An-30, An-32, C-130, DHC-5

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Latest revision as of 17:22, 6 September 2024

The Sudanese Air Force (Arabic: القوّات الجوّيّة السودانيّة, romanized: Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya As-Sudaniya) is the air force operated by the Republic of the Sudan. As such it is part of the Sudanese Armed Forces.^[2]

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 started supplying the Sudanese Air Force with aircraft. This included supply of Shenyang F-5 fighters (F-5/FT-5 variants).^[3]

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.^[4]

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.^[5]

In 2009, Sudan made a successful deal to buy two different batches of 12 MiG-29 Russian fighter jets each.^[6] There were 23 MiG-29s in active service as of late 2008.^[7] 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.^[8] South Sudan also claimed to have shot down a Sudanese MiG-29 during the 2012 border conflict.^[2]

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.^[9] Various reports have said that the air force uses Iranian drones such as the Ghods Ababil.^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]

Aircraft	Origin	Typ	Variant	In service	Notes
Combat Aircraft
Nanchang Q-5	China	attack	A-5	20^[1]
Shenyang J-6	China	fighter	F-6	8^[1]
Chengdu J-7	China	fighter	F-7	20^[1]
MiG-21	Soviet Union	fighter	MiG-21	4^[1]
MiG-23	Soviet Union	fighter	MiG-23	3^[1]
MiG-29	Soviet Union	multirole	MiG-29	10^[1]	1 is used for conversion training.^[1]
Sukhoi Su-24	Soviet Union	attack	Su-24M	3^[1]^[14]	Delivered from Belarus starting in 2013.^[15]
Sukhoi Su-25	Soviet Union	attack	Su-25	9^[1]	3 are used for conversion training.^[1]
Transport
Antonov An-12	Soviet Union	transport	An-12	5^[1]
Antonov An-26	Soviet Union	transport	An-26	2^[1]
Antonov An-30	Soviet Union	transport	An-30/32	4^[1]
C-130 Hercules	Vereinigte Staaten	transport	C-130H	1^[1]
DHC-5 Buffalo	Kanada	transport	DHC-5	1^[1]
Ilyushin Il-76	Soviet Union	heavy transport	Il-76	1^[1]
Combat helicopter
Bell 205	Vereinigte Staaten	utility	Bell 205	2^[1]
Bell 212	Vereinigte Staaten	utility	Bell 212	3^[1]
Mil Mi-8	Soviet Union	utility	Mi-8/17/171	24^[1]
Mil Mi-24	Russland	attack	Mi-24/35	35^[1]
Training aircraft
Guizhou JL-9	China	jet trainer	FTC-2000	6^[1]
Hongdu JL-8	China/Pakistan	jet trainer	K-8	5^[1]
UAV
mohajer-6	Iran	UCAV		K.A.

Retired

Previous notable aircraft operated were the BAC Jet Provost, Douglas C-47,^[16] MBB Bo 105, and the Agusta-Bell 212 helicopter.^[17]^[18]

Missiles

Missile	Origin	Typ	Variant	In service
AAM
R-77	Russland	air-to-air BVR missile	R-77	N/A^[19]
R-73 (missile)	Russland	Short-range air-to-air missile	R-73 (missile)	N/A^[19]
R-27 (missile)	Russland	air-to-air BVR missile	R-27 (missile)	N/A^[19]
K-13 (missile)	Russland	Short-range air-to-air missile	K-13 (missile)	N/A^[19]
PL-8 (missile)	China	Short-range air-to-air missile	PL-8 (missile)	40^[19]

Air Defense

Weapon	Origin	Typ	Variant	In service	Notes
ZPU	Soviet Union	Anti-aircraft gun	ZPU	+3200^[19]	ZPU/1/2/4/23
AZP S-60	Soviet Union	Autocannon	S-60	+100	Both S-60 and Type 59 versions
KS-19	Soviet Union	Anti-aircraft gun	KS-19	+40	Status unknown
M163 VADS	Vereinigte Staaten	Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun	M163	+8^[19]
9K32 Strela-2	Soviet Union	Man portable surface-to-air missile launcher	SA-7	+400^[19]
FN-6	China	Man portable surface-to-air missile launcher	FN-6	+200^[19]
FIM-43 Redeye	Vereinigte Staaten	Manportable surface-to-air missile	FIM-43	+125
QW-2	China	Man portable surface-to-air missile launcher	QW-2	+200	Sudan operates QW-1/2
Akash	Indien	SAM system	Mk 1	K.A.	^[20]^[21]
SA-2 Guideline	Soviet Union	Strategic SAM system	SA-2	+90 Launchers^[19]	Sudan has operated the S-75 and the Chinese HQ-2 since 1970.
9K33 OSA	Soviet Union	SAM system	SA-8	Unknown
HQ-64	China	SAM system	HQ-6	Unknown
HQ-16	China	Surface-to-air missile	HQ-16	Unknown^[22]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w Hoyle, Craig (December 2023). World Air Forces 2024. FlightGlobal (Report). London: Flight Global Insight. p. 30. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
^ ^a ^b "South Sudan says it shot down Sudanese fighter jet as tensions escalate". CNN. 4 April 2012. Archived from the original on 13 April 2012.
^ "Sudan Air Force". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
^ Library of Congress Sudan Country Study Archived 10 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine, 1991, accessed March 2009
^ "Sudan-military-leaders-killed-in-plane-crash Archived 19 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine", BreakingNews, 4 April 2001, Retrieved 12 April 2010
^ "Russia delivers MiG-29 fighter-jets to Sudan". Archived from the original on 7 January 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2009.
^ "Directory: World Air Forces", Flight International, 11–17 November 2008.
^ "Russia says fighter pilot shot down in Sudan was an ex-military officer". 31 May 2008. Archived from the original on 13 May 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
^ "Sudan gets second hand Belarusian Su-24 Fencer attack planes. And here are some photos". 19 August 2013. Archived from the original on 19 August 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
^ War Is Boring (5 May 2014). "Sudan's Drones Are Dropping Like Flies". Medium. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
^ "Sudan Armed Forces Implicated in Video Captured by Their Own Drone". satsentinel.org. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
^ "Warplanes: Iranian UAVs in Africa". strategypage.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
^ "Africa Confidential – The world's leading fortnightly bulletin on A". africa-confidential.com. Archived from the original on 12 September 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
^ "Sudan's Most Powerful Military Assets: From Chinese Type 96 Tanks to Soviet Su-24 Strike Fighters". Military Watch Magazine. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
^ Cooper, Tom (2018). Hot Skies Over Yemen, Volume 2: Aerial Warfare Over the South Arabian Peninsula, 1994-2017. Warwick, UK: Helion & Company Publishing. p. VI. ISBN 978-1-911628-18-7.
^ "World Air Forces 1969 pg. 253". flightglobal.com. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
^ "World Air Forces 2004 pg. 87". flightglobal.com. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
^ "Shenyang J-6 / F-6 Farmer Fighter Aircraft – Airforce Technology". Retrieved 23 February 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j "Trade Registers". Stockholm International Peace Research. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
^ "Aatmanirbharta on the rise: Defence exports reach an all-time high of approx. Rs 16,000 crore in Financial Year 2022-23; Over 10-times increase since 2016-17; India exporting to over 85 countries". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
^ "ظهر في المعرض العسكري للجيش السوداني صاروخ الدفاع الجوي الهندي AKASH والذي بات يعمل في الخدمة في قوات الدفاع الجوي السودانية". Twitter. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
^ "HQ-16 For Sudan". Chinese Magazine. 30 March 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2021.

Bibliography

Silvester, John. "Call to Arms: The Percival Sea Prince and Pembroke". Air Enthusiast, No. 55, Autumn 1994, pp. 56–61. ISSN 0143-5450

[World_Air_Forces_2024-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w Hoyle, Craig (December 2023). World Air Forces 2024. FlightGlobal (Report). London: Flight Global Insight. p. 30. Retrieved 12 December 2023.

[:0-2] "South Sudan says it shot down Sudanese fighter jet as tensions escalate". CNN. 4 April 2012. Archived from the original on 13 April 2012.

[3] "Sudan Air Force". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2015.

[4] Library of Congress Sudan Country Study Archived 10 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine, 1991, accessed March 2009

[killed-5] "Sudan-military-leaders-killed-in-plane-crash Archived 19 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine", BreakingNews, 4 April 2001, Retrieved 12 April 2010

[6] "Russia delivers MiG-29 fighter-jets to Sudan". Archived from the original on 7 January 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2009.

[FI_AirForces_2008-7] "Directory: World Air Forces", Flight International, 11–17 November 2008.

[8] "Russia says fighter pilot shot down in Sudan was an ex-military officer". 31 May 2008. Archived from the original on 13 May 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2015.

[theaviationist.com-9] "Sudan gets second hand Belarusian Su-24 Fencer attack planes. And here are some photos". 19 August 2013. Archived from the original on 19 August 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013.

[10] War Is Boring (5 May 2014). "Sudan's Drones Are Dropping Like Flies". Medium. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.

[11] "Sudan Armed Forces Implicated in Video Captured by Their Own Drone". satsentinel.org. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.

[12] "Warplanes: Iranian UAVs in Africa". strategypage.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.

[13] "Africa Confidential – The world's leading fortnightly bulletin on A". africa-confidential.com. Archived from the original on 12 September 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.

[14] "Sudan's Most Powerful Military Assets: From Chinese Type 96 Tanks to Soviet Su-24 Strike Fighters". Military Watch Magazine. Retrieved 25 July 2024.

[15] Cooper, Tom (2018). Hot Skies Over Yemen, Volume 2: Aerial Warfare Over the South Arabian Peninsula, 1994-2017. Warwick, UK: Helion & Company Publishing. p. VI. ISBN 978-1-911628-18-7.

[16] "World Air Forces 1969 pg. 253". flightglobal.com. Retrieved 16 April 2015.

[17] "World Air Forces 2004 pg. 87". flightglobal.com. Retrieved 16 April 2015.

[18] "Shenyang J-6 / F-6 Farmer Fighter Aircraft – Airforce Technology". Retrieved 23 February 2015.

[Arms_Trade_Stockholm-19] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j "Trade Registers". Stockholm International Peace Research. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2021.

[:4-20] "Aatmanirbharta on the rise: Defence exports reach an all-time high of approx. Rs 16,000 crore in Financial Year 2022-23; Over 10-times increase since 2016-17; India exporting to over 85 countries". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 13 April 2023.

[:6-21] "ظهر في المعرض العسكري للجيش السوداني صاروخ الدفاع الجوي الهندي AKASH والذي بات يعمل في الخدمة في قوات الدفاع الجوي السودانية". Twitter. Retrieved 25 June 2023.

[HQ-16_Sudan-22] "HQ-16 For Sudan". Chinese Magazine. 30 March 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2021.

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