Sudanese Air Force
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sudanese Air Force | |
|---|---|
 Sudanese Air Force Roundel |
|
| Founded | 1956 |
| Country | Sudan |
| Size | around 3,000 men[1] |
| Part of | Sudanese Armed Forces |
| Commanders | |
| Air Force Commander | Abbas Yusuf Ahmed Al-Badri[2] |
The Sudanese Air Force (Arabic: 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.
[edit] History
The Sudanese Air Force was founded several months after the Sudan gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1956. The British assisted in the Air Force's establishment, providing equipment and training. In particular, four new Hunting Provost T Mk 53s were delivered for jet training in 1957. The following year, the Sudanese Air Force's transport wing acquired its first aircraft, a single Hunting President. In 1960 the Sudanese Air Force was in receipt of 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.[3]
In the 1960s Soviet and Chinese started supplying the Sudanese Air Force with aircraft. The Air Force also gained its first combat aircraft when 12 Jet Provosts with a close air support capability were delivered in 1962.[4]
The Sudanese Air force currently operates around 200 aircraft.
[edit] Current inventory
Currently the air force flies a mixture of transport planes, fighter jets and helicopters sourced from various nations including the European Union, Russia, and the United States. However, not all the aircraft are in a fully functioning condition and the availability of spare parts is limited. There are a few air force bases in Sudan including one at the capital Khartoum.
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Versions | In service | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antonov An-24 Coke |  Soviet Union /  Ukraine |
transport | An-24RV | 5 | ||
| Antonov An-26 Curl | Soviet Union |
transport | An-26 | 1 Rumoured to be in use as an improvised bomber. | ||
| CASA C.212 Aviocar |  Spain |
transport | CASA C.212-200 Aviocar | 2 | ||
| de Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo |  Canada |
transport | DHC-5D | 3 | ||
| de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter | Canada |
surveillance | DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 | 1 | ||
| Fokker F.27 Friendship |  Netherlands |
transport | F.27 Mk 100 | 1 | VIP flights only | |
| Dassault Falcon 20 |  France |
transport | Dassault Falcon 20F | 1 | VIP flights only | |
| Dassault Falcon 50 | France |
transport | Dassault Falcon 50 | 1 | VIP flights only | |
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 Fulcrum | Soviet Union |
fighter | unknown variant | 24 purchased | numbers in operational condition not confirmed. 1 shot down by heavy machine guns on May 10th 2008 [5] | |
| Lockheed C-130 Hercules |  United States |
transport | C-130H | 9 | numbers in operational condition not confirmed. | |
| Chengdu F-7 Airguard |  People's Republic of China |
fighter | F-7M | 22 | numbers in operational condition not confirmed. | |
| IAR 330 Puma |  Romania |
transport/search and rescue | ICA IAR-330L PUMA | 24 | numbers in operational condition not confirmed. | |
| Shenyang F-5 Fresco | People's Republic of China |
fighter | F-5/FT-5 Fresco | 19 | numbers in operational condition not confirmed. | |
| Agusta-Bell AB212 Twin Huey | United States |
transport | AB212 | 10 | numbers in operational condition not confirmed. | |
| MBB Bo 105 |  Germany |
transport/ attack/search and rescue | Bo 105CB | 20 | numbers in operational condition not confirmed. | |
| Mil Mi-8 Hip | Soviet Union |
transport | Mi-8T | 6 (plus unknown number of Mil Mi-171 variants. 3 Confirmed) | numbers in operational condition not confirmed. 3 Mil Mi-171 Helicopters rumoured to be in Dafur region operating from Nyala airport. | |
| Mil Mi-24 Hind | Soviet Union |
helicopter gunship | Mi-24V/Mi-24P | 12-16 | numbers in operational condition not confirmed. 8 Mil Mi-24 Helicopters rumoured to be in Dafur region operating from Nyala airport. | |
| Nanchang A-5 Fantan | People's Republic of China |
ground attack | A-5 | 15-20 | delivered to Sudan by China 2003, although allegedly financed by Iran. Rumoured to be in Dafur region based at Nyala airport. | |
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 | Soviet Union |
fighter | MiG-23BN | 3 | numbers in operational condition not confirmed. | |
| Hongdu JL-8 | People's Republic of China |
trainer/light atack | 12 | Numbers in operational condition |
[edit] References
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
