The Eagles of the Sky: 72 Years of Protecting Sudan’s Airspace

Omdurman (Sudanow) — On the morning of the celebration marking Army Day, a majestic scene unfolded over Omdurman as the eagles of the sky flew their giant aircraft at low altitudes. The roar of their engines mingled with the chants and whistles of citizens celebrating the 72nd anniversary of the Sudanese Armed Forces.

Those moments brought back the meaning of sovereignty and reaffirmed that above the homeland stand men who remain vigilant to protect the security of the land.

To discuss the importance of the Air Force and its role within Sudan’s military structure, Sudanow spoke with media expert, writer, political analyst, and Ambassador Dr. Muawiya Al-Bukhari, who said:

On Sudanese Army Day, there are many ways of honoring the military institution, whose modern history has been closely linked to the history of the national state, its independence, and sovereignty.

While ground battles and military commanders occupy a large space in the national memory and enjoy broad public support, another institution has played a role no less important—albeit from the sky: the Sudanese Air Force.

Seven Decades in the Sky of Sovereignty

Since the independent Sudanese state began building its air force, the undertaking was not merely the creation of a new military formation. Rather, it was the establishment of a strategic capability touching the very essence of national sovereignty: the ability to monitor national airspace, protect vital installations, support ground forces, transport troops and supplies, conduct reconnaissance and evacuation missions, and reach areas that ground forces cannot access with the required speed.

Thus, the history of the Sudanese Air Force is not simply a history of aircraft, airfields, and wars. It is the history of men who carried their homeland into the sky, and of an institution that managed to evolve despite highly complex political, economic, and security circumstances, maintaining its position within Sudan’s national security equation for decades.

The Beginnings: When the State Began Guarding Its Skies

The Sudanese Air Force emerged during the early years following independence in 1956. Its beginnings were modest in terms of capabilities, but ambitious in terms of vision and foresight.

The development of a national cadre began in an environment where the state itself was newly established and military aviation expertise was still in its formative stages. Training programs were initiated, a flight school was organized, and jet trainers were later introduced, opening the way for Sudanese pilots to enter the world of modern military aviation.

That period marked the foundation of the Sudanese air-minded institution.

The Air Force needed far more than aircraft. It needed pilots, technicians, engineers, instructors, controllers, maintenance crews, and command-and-control personnel. Consequently, one of its most important achievements during its early years was not what appeared on the runways, but what was established within its schools, bases, training institutions, and, above all, its doctrine.

From that point onward, successive generations of Sudanese pilots were trained both inside and outside Sudan, eventually contributing to the development of a national school of military aviation.

From Flight School to an Integrated Air Force

The process of development did not stop with training aircraft. As Sudan's political and strategic environment changed, so did its sources of military equipment and defense partnerships.

The Air Force gradually moved from its British legacy toward Soviet and Chinese systems, followed later by platforms from multiple sources. This created Sudanese expertise in operating aircraft from different technological and operational schools.

At various stages, fighter aircraft, transport aircraft, helicopters, and support aircraft entered service, followed later by more advanced platforms for combat and reconnaissance.

This diversity had two sides. On the one hand, it provided flexibility in acquiring systems. On the other, it created significant challenges in maintenance, spare parts, training, and integration between different platforms.

Here lies one of the most important issues for the future: air power is not measured by the number of aircraft a country possesses, but by its ability to keep those aircraft operational, connect them to information and command-and-control systems, and operate them efficiently during war and emergencies despite periods of sanctions, restrictions, and limited access to resources.

Sudan’s Geography: A Sky That Demands a Presence

Sudan’s geography created a strategic need for air power.

The country has a vast and complex geography, long borders, desert, savannah, and mountainous regions, as well as areas where road and transportation networks have remained limited.

For Sudan, therefore, aviation has been more than a means of warfare.

It has been a means of connecting the state with its farthest regions.

Air transport, supply, reconnaissance, evacuation, troop movements, and air support have all acquired particular importance in the Sudanese context.

The Air Force consequently developed as an instrument of the state’s strategic mobility, rather than merely a weapon used in battle.

This is an important characteristic that should be preserved when considering its future. Sudan’s air power should be designed according to the country’s geography and national requirements—not simply according to a regional arms race, but according to the demands of competitiveness, readiness, and national capability.

The Sudanese Pilot: The Institution’s Human Capital

If the aircraft is the tool, the human being is the true source of strength.

Sudanese pilots have undergone demanding training over successive generations, often under limited resources, across vast operational theaters and under harsh combat conditions and continuing challenges.

Building a national cadre has been one of the institution’s greatest achievements. From the earliest generations, Sudan gradually moved from dependence on foreign expertise toward developing Sudanese pilots, instructors, technicians, and commanders.

The process was not without sacrifice. The history of Sudanese military aviation includes painful accidents in which some of its finest personnel lost their lives during training and operations.

Those sacrifices became part of the institution’s professional memory and helped reinforce a culture of discipline, responsibility, and courage associated with the Sudanese pilot.

For this reason, honoring the Air Force on Army Day should not be limited to aircraft. It should also recognize the pilots, engineers, soldiers, technicians, instructors, air-traffic personnel, and all the crews who serve within the institution.

In the Arenas of War and Peace

The Sudanese Air Force has been associated with various stages of conflict in Sudan since independence and has participated in support, transportation, reconnaissance, evacuation, and combat missions.

During internal conflicts, air power played a role in areas where geography posed major obstacles to ground movement.

Sudanese forces also operated beyond the country’s borders through various regional and international engagements, including Sudan’s participation in the October 1973 War, as well as subsequent regional and African missions. Regional coordination, joint exercises, and operational cooperation have continued in different forms.

It is worth noting that paratrooper and airborne forces are not organizationally part of the Air Force; they belong to the ground forces. However, there is close operational integration between them, particularly in air transport and airborne operations.

The participation of Sudanese airborne forces in certain external missions has demonstrated the ability to conduct operations requiring a high degree of coordination between air transport and ground forces.

This integration between air power and airborne forces represents one aspect of modern military capability that should be further developed in the future.

Commanders and Generations: Institutional Accumulation Beyond Individuals

Like other institutions within the Armed Forces, the Sudanese Air Force did not build its legacy around a single commander. Its achievements emerged from the accumulated contributions of generations of capable commanders, skilled pilots, and highly trained technicians.

A number of officers successively led the Air Force and left their mark at different stages of its history. Their responsibilities ranged from commanding air bases and operations to training, reconnaissance, and aviation administration.

Tribute and gratitude are due to the early founders, both those still living and those who have passed on.

Among the names associated with the leadership of the Air Force at different stages are Lieutenant General Pilot Ahmed Ali Ahmed Al-Faki, Lieutenant General Pilot Mohyiddin Ahmed Abdullah, Lieutenant General Salah Abdel-Khalek, and Lieutenant General Pilot Essam Al-Din Saeed, among others.

In recent years, Lieutenant General Pilot Ali Ajabna Jamouda Mohammed assumed command of the Air Force, following a professional career that included service in bases, operations, reconnaissance, and training.

The significance of these commanders lies not merely in their names, but in a deeper reality: strong military institutions are those capable of transferring knowledge and experience from one generation to another, ensuring that each new command does not start from zero, but instead builds upon an accumulated school of experience and diverse expertise.

The Air Force in the April 15 War: A Different Kind of Test

The war that erupted on April 15, 2023, represented an exceptionally harsh test for the Sudanese Air Force.

It was not a conventional war between two evenly matched regular armies. Rather, it was an internal conflict with regional and international dimensions, characterized by widespread use of drones, changing forms of threats, attacks on bases and installations, and expanding reliance on unmanned technology.

Within this context, air superiority remained one of the key elements of the Sudanese Armed Forces’ operational equation.

At the same time, however, the war demonstrated that traditional air power alone is no longer sufficient.

A modern fighter aircraft requires an information network. Air defense requires early warning. A drone requires command-and-control systems. All of this depends on secure communications, electronic and cyber capabilities, maintenance, and sustained logistics.

The sky itself has become a multidomain battlespace.

Perhaps this is the most important strategic message the current war offers the Sudanese Air Force.

From Aircraft to an Integrated System

Modern warfare has brought about a profound transformation in the concept of air power.

The equation is no longer:

Aircraft + pilot + weapon.

It has become:

Aircraft + drones + reconnaissance + satellites + communications + electronic warfare + air defense + command and control + artificial intelligence.

This is where Sudan’s future vision should begin.

Fighter aircraft will remain necessary, and manned aviation cannot simply be eliminated. However, their future role will be increasingly connected to a broader system of sensors, unmanned aircraft, and command-and-control capabilities.

Sudan can therefore envision an integrated air force combining manned aircraft, drones, aerial reconnaissance, electronic warfare, air defense, and advanced information-analysis capabilities.

Training: The Battle Before the Battle

If there is one fundamental lesson that can be drawn from the experiences of modern militaries in the region, it is that modernization begins with training before it begins with armament.

Countries that have successfully modernized their air forces did not simply purchase advanced aircraft. They invested in flight schools, simulation, joint training, technical and engineering education, and the development of command-and-control doctrines.

This is a particularly important lesson for Sudan.

Rebuilding the Air Force should begin with rebuilding the aviation education and training system.

This should include:

Developing an advanced national aviation training academy or institution.

Expanding the use of modern flight simulators.

Developing training programs for fighter, transport, and helicopter pilots.

Qualifying Sudanese instructors.

Establishing specialized career paths for engineers and technicians.

Introducing artificial intelligence, data analysis, electronic warfare, radar development, and airspace coverage into training.

Expanding joint training with friendly countries and specialized joint operations.

Building a joint operational culture among the Air Force, Air Defense, ground forces, and intelligence services for effective air command and control.

A pilot trained on a modern aircraft without training in modern battle management will not be able to exploit the technology to its full potential.

What Can Sudan Learn from Military Modernization in the Region?

Sudan does not need to replicate other countries’ experiences, but it can learn from them.

Some Arab and African countries have pursued modernization by upgrading their fighter aircraft, linking them to command-and-control systems, expanding simulation, developing aerial refueling capabilities, strengthening reconnaissance and early-warning systems, and expanding drone fleets.

Countries such as Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, and the Gulf states offer different models of modernization, each shaped by its own circumstances, resources, and defense doctrine.

The most important lesson is not which aircraft one country or another purchased, but how that country built an integrated system around the aircraft.

This is the lesson Khartoum can benefit from:

The goal should not simply be a larger air force, but an air force that is more ready, sustainable, flexible, and capable of joint operations.

Drones: An Opportunity to Redefine Sudanese Air Power

The current war has demonstrated that unmanned aircraft are no longer a marginal weapon.

They have become part of reconnaissance, surveillance, target identification, communications, and strike operations. They have also become increasingly important to modern military doctrine because of their lower cost compared with manned combat aircraft and their ability, in some applications, to remain airborne for extended periods while reducing risks to personnel.

However, it would be a strategic mistake to view drones as a complete replacement for manned aircraft.

The more appropriate approach is to build integration between the two.

Manned aircraft continue to possess capabilities, range, payload, and flexibility that remain essential, while drones can provide persistent surveillance and operate in high-risk environments.

The future should therefore move toward the concept of manned fighter aircraft operating alongside groups of unmanned systems, rather than fighters operating alone.

Maintenance and Sustainability: The Invisible Power

Another aspect is no less important than pilots and aircraft: maintenance.

An air force may possess dozens of aircraft, but if a significant percentage are grounded because of sanctions, shortages of spare parts, inadequate maintenance, or insufficient technical training, the number of aircraft does not reflect actual combat capability.

Therefore, priorities for post-war reconstruction should include national maintenance capabilities, rehabilitation, spare-parts supply, development of workshops, and the training of engineers and technicians.

More importantly, Sudan should gradually move from complete external dependence toward developing an expanding national capacity for aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul.

A country capable of maintaining and repairing its aircraft possesses a greater degree of strategic independence than a country that can purchase aircraft but cannot keep them operational.

From Consumer to Partner and Developer

The longer-term future should go beyond simply purchasing weapons.

Sudan needs to build a knowledge and technological base that allows it to gradually move from:

Buyer → User → Maintainer → Developer → Industrial Partner.

This does not mean immediately attempting to manufacture fighter aircraft, which would be extremely costly and complex.

Rather, Sudan could begin with more realistic areas: spare parts, communications systems, electronics, software, sensors, simulation systems, and aircraft maintenance, followed by the development and production of certain types of drones.

These areas could provide a genuine entry point into the development of a Sudanese aerospace industry in the future.

Toward a New Sudanese Air Doctrine

Rebuilding the Air Force after the war should not merely mean replacing losses.

It should be an opportunity to rethink the air doctrine itself.

The required doctrine does not necessarily have to be that of a major power. It should be a doctrine suited to Sudan:

Vast geography.

Long borders with their associated risks.

Diverse operational environments.

Significant requirements for air transport and supply.

A major need for reconnaissance and surveillance.

Nontraditional threats.

The growing importance of unmanned aircraft.

The need to protect critical infrastructure.

Limited resources compared with the scale of national requirements.

This means that priority should be given to a smart, flexible, and sustainable air force, rather than a massive and costly traditional air force.

The Air Force and the Post-War Era

After the war ends, Sudan will have a historic opportunity to rebuild its military institutions based on the experience accumulated during the conflict, rather than simply returning to the situation that existed before April 15, 2023.

The Air Force could become one of the leading institutions in a national military modernization project.

This could include rehabilitating air bases, modernizing training, establishing simulation centers, developing drones, strengthening aerial reconnaissance, upgrading communications and command-and-control systems, developing electronic warfare capabilities, improving maintenance efficiency, and expanding regional and international partnerships in training and technology.

The ultimate goal should not be to enter a regional arms race, but to build a credible national deterrent capability that protects Sudan and serves its national security.

On Army Day: A Salute to Those Who Guard the Sky

On Sudanese Army Day, we should not celebrate only the aircraft that crossed the sky, but also the men and women who made those flights possible.

The pilot who took off knowing that his return was never guaranteed.

The technician who remained in the workshop until the aircraft was returned to service.

The engineer who transformed knowledge into a tool of defense.

The instructor who passed his experience to a new generation.

And the commander who carried the responsibility of decision-making during the most difficult moments.

All of them, together with their colleagues and support personnel, are the Air Force.

Honoring this institution is therefore a tribute to generations of Sudanese who made the sky part of national sovereignty.

Conclusion: From the Glories of the Sky to the Sky of the Future

Honoring the history of the Sudanese Air Force does not mean looking only to the sky and recalling the glories of yesterday. It also means looking upward and envisioning the sky of tomorrow.

The generation that established the Air Force after independence did not possess the technology available today, but it possessed the determination to build a national institution from the ground up.

Today, the new generation carries a similar responsibility: to transform seven decades of accumulated experience into a modern air force and make past sacrifices a foundation for the future.

The current war, despite all its losses, has also revealed an important strategic reality: air power is no longer simply a flying weapon. It is an integrated system of people, information, technology, speed, precision, and endurance.

Therefore, the next challenge is not merely to purchase a newer aircraft. It is to develop a better-trained pilot, a more qualified technician, a more professional instructor, a more capable engineer, a smarter command center, a more prepared air base, and a more independent national industrial capability.

The sky is not protected by aircraft alone. It is protected by doctrine, knowledge, training, technology, discipline, and people.

If the Sudanese Air Force has spent seven decades protecting the nation’s skies, the challenge for its new generation is to make those skies a domain of sovereignty in the twenty-first century.

Air warfare is no longer simply an encounter between two aircraft. It is a competition between integrated systems capable of processing information, acting with speed and precision, employing intelligence, and sustaining operations.

On Army Day, our salute remains due to everyone who carried Sudan on their wings, to everyone who paid the ultimate price for its sovereignty, and to everyone who continues to perform their duty with patriotism and dedication.

Since the wings of the Sudanese Air Force first rose above the homeland, they have not merely guarded the sky; they have guarded the very idea of the state.

Today, the goal is not only to keep those wings raised, but to make them stronger in knowledge, more advanced in training, more independent, and better prepared to confront the skies of future conflicts.

“Honoring the history of the Sudanese Air Force is not merely about preserving its achievements, but about transforming its legacy into future capability. The nation’s skies are not protected by aircraft alone, but by an evolving doctrine, renewed training, locally developed technology, and people who are continuously empowered.”

From this perspective, advancing Sudan’s air-power system is not merely the modernization of a military branch; it is a strategic investment in Sudan’s sovereignty and its ability to shape the future of its national security.

The future will not be built by the glories of the sky alone, but by transforming those glories into a renewed air doctrine, advanced training, indigenous technology, and an air force capable of protecting Sudan’s skies today while anticipating the conflicts of tomorrow and the challenges and projects emerging from beyond its borders.

A Display Reflecting Readiness

The aerial display witnessed over Omdurman today was more than a mere spectacle. It was a message of reassurance to citizens and an affirmation of the readiness of the Air Force’s eagles.

The proximity of the aircraft to residential areas, the precision of the formations, and the coordination between the air and ground elements all reflected a high level of professionalism.

On its 72nd anniversary, the Sudanese Air Force remains a symbol of pride and dignity.

A salute to every pilot, technician, and engineer standing behind this great institution.

May our skies remain safe, and may our flag always fly high.