How Russian Jets Are Turning the Tide of War in Sudan

Russian fighters and attack helicopters have shone in the ongoing pitched battle between Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) which has raised fears of a civil war.

Sudan’s military, led by Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhan, an army general who is the de facto ruler of the country since a coup in 2019, operates a mixture of transport planes, fighter jets and helicopters sourced from Europe, Russia, China and the United States but has taken to its official social media accounts to laud Russian aircraft.

The Air Force has a strong Russian aircraft fleet - 43 Mil Mi-24 attack helicopters, 3 Mil Mi-17 transport helicopters, 10 MiG-29 fighters, 4 MiG-21 jets, 3 MiG-23 jets, 3 Su-24 jets and 15 Su-25 jets.

Fierce fighting broke out last week in Sudan between the two rival Sudanese armies trying to gain control of capital Khartoum.

Sudan’s armed forces have been providing regular updates on the performance of Russian aircraft.

On April 16, Sudanese army said in a tweet lauding the MiG-29 that “since the beginning of the military operation, no voice is louder than its voice, it dominates the air with merit, and simply no one can suppress its flight.”

A day later, it said an Mi-24 helicopter made an emergency landing in Bahri, without sustaining any damage to the fuselage. The military then posted a video showing one of its low-flying helicopters heading towards militia facilities for an attack. Talking about Su-25, Sudan’s army said the “Sukhoi 25 flying tank rammed the enemy's supplies and became like a demon appearing to the rebels from all sides. It's raining, Militia.”

Russian Helicopters’ enterprises is offering Mi-35P and Ansat helicopters to Africa. More than a half of helicopters in Africa made in the USSR.  African countries operate over 250 helicopters of Mi-24/35 type.