Sudanese Armed Forces
Index
1. Order of battle
2. Overview
3. Defence economics
4. State of military forces
5. Country threat report
1. Order of Battle
| Total force strength | Army: 105 000 Navy: 500 Air Force: 3 000 Paramilitary: 17 500 (2 500 Border Guards, 500 National Guard, Popular Defence Forces) |
| Army | |
| Armour | 20: M-60A3 54: T-54/55 60: Type-59 45: Type-63 100: T-72M1 65: Type-62 ?: Type-85 24: T-62 |
| Reconnaissance | 6: AML-90 30: BRDM-1/2 40: Ferret 42: M1114 14: Saladin |
| APC/IFV | 36: M-113 40: BTR-50/152 30: V-150 Commando 30: BTR 70/80 35: OT-62/64 90: Walid 10: WZ-551/Type-92 10: WZ-501/Type-86 20: Rakhsh 10: BTR-3U Guardian 16: BMP-1 6: BMP-2 |
| Self-propelled artillery | 10: 2S1 Carnation 122 mm 6: AMX Mk F3 155 mm |
| Towed artillery | 20: M-101 105 mm 24: D-30 122 mm 75: M-46 130 mm 6: M56 105 mm 4: D-74 122 mm 18: M-1938 122 mm 60:D-20 155 mm |
| Multiple Rocket Launcher | 90: BM-21 122 mm 50: Saqr 122 mm 18: Type-81 122 mm 400: Type-63 107 mm 5: Shahine |
| Mortar | 120: 81 mm 12: M-43 and AM-49 120 mm |
| Anti-armour | ?: AT-3 Sagger Swingfire |
| Recoilless rifle | 40: M-40A1 |
| Rocket launcher | ?: RPG-7 Knout 73 mm |
| Air defence gun | 8: M-163 Vulcan 20 mm 12: M3 VDAA 20 mm 740: ZPU-2 14.5 mm 16: M-167 Vulcan 20 mm 50: ZU-23-2 23 mm 80: M-1939 37 mm 60: Bofors 40 mm |
| Structure | 6 Regional Commands 1 armoured division HQ 1 airborne Corps HQ 1 Republican Guard brigade 2 armoured brigades 2 infantry brigades 1 parachute brigade 3 artillery regiments 5 air defence brigades 1 SAM battalion 1 engineer battalion 1 ranger company 1 special operations/counter terrorist unit |
| Air Force | |
| Combat aircraft | 23: MiG-29 SE/UB 3: MiG-23 4: MiG-21 15: SU-25 12: Su-24 12: A-5 Fantan 15: F-7 6: J-6 |
| Trainer aircraft | 12: K-8 Karakorum 12: Utva-75 |
| Transport aircraft | 4: C-130 Hercules 5: An-12 6: An-26 5: An-30/32 1: Il-76 4: C212 Aviocar 1: F27 Friendship 1: DHC-5Ds 6: EMB-110 2: Falcon 20/50 8: Turbo Porter 1: Twin Otter 1: King Air 90 2: An-74 |
| Combat helicopter | 25: Mi-24 |
| Transport helicopter | 2: Mi-2 20: Mi-8 2: Bell 205 3: Bell 212 4: IAR-330 |
| Air defence missile | ?: SA-2 Guideline (Non operational) SA-7 Redeye 50: FN-6 |
| Navy | |
| Patrol/Strike boat (Gun/Missile/OPV/IPV) | 4: Kurmuk class 1: Swiftship type patrol boat 4: ex-Yugoslav patrol boats (Gihad class) 3: Sewart type patrol craft 2: ex-Iranian coastal patrol craft (Kadir class) |
| Amphibious/Transport/Supply | 2: Sobat class |
2. Overview
Head of State, Prime Minister, Supreme Commander and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces: Ppresident Field Marshal Omar Hassan Ahmad al Bashir
Defence Minister: Major General Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein
Chief of General Staff: Lieutenant General Emadeddine Mostafa Adawi
Chief of Land Forces Staff: General Ahmed Abdalla al-Naw
Chief of Naval Staff: General Daleel al-Daw Mohamed Fadlalla
Chief of Air Staff: General Ismail Breima Abdel-Samad
Member of: UN, Arab League, OAU, IAEA, ICAO etc.
Conscription: Six-week military training period.
3. Defence economics
Defence budget percentage per GDP (2000-2010)
Defence budget per US$ Mil (2000-2011)
Defence budget percentage growth (2000-2011)
4. State of military forces
Sudan’s military is large and relatively well equipped, and is bolstered by paramilitary, irregular tribal and former rebel militias. The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) are combat hardened, having fought in various conflicts in recent times, including the Sudanese Civil War, Darfur Conflict, Sudan-SPLM-N conflict and the 2012 South Sudan-Sudan border conflict. Nevertheless Sudanese army soldiers are considered to be largely ineffective, poorly motivated and politically unreliable. During the 1990s purges eroded the army’s capability and command authority.
Sudan has acquired vast amounts of military hardware over the last decade, primarily from the East using oil money. China and Russia are the country’s biggest suppliers, with Russia providing aircraft like Mi-24 attack helicopters and Mi-17 transport helicopters and China providing aircraft and armoured vehicles. Sudan has used such equipment in Darfur in spite of a United Nations arms embargo. The Air Force in particular continues to receive new hardware, replacing some of the many aircraft that it has lost to crashes and rebel action.
Since the 1990s Chinese, Russian and Iranian companies have helped Sudan develop its domestic military industry, which manufactures small arms, artillery and armoured vehicles. The Military Industry Corporation (MIC) was established in 1993 to manufacture weapons and equipment for the Sudanese military and is now marketing its products internationally. Products include recoilless rifles, mortars, rocket launchers and upgraded armoured vehicles.
Sudanese military acquisitions are ongoing, particularly due to the numerous security concerns Sudan faces, notably the rebel Sudan People Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N), as well as the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF), which also includes rebel groups from Darfur. In addition, Sudan is maintaining a strong military due to tensions with South Sudan.
As a result of conflict in Darfur, there are some 20 000 uniformed personnel stationed in the area as part of the Unamid peacekeeping operation. The African Union/United Nations Hybrid operation in Darfur (Unamid) was established in July 2007 to protect civilians, provide security for humanitarian assistance, monitor and verify the implementation of agreements, assist the political process, promote human rights and the rule of law and monitor the borders with Chad and the Central African Republic. Due to the conflict in Darfur, Sudan’s president and defence minister have been charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
5. Country threat report
| Threat type | Overview |
| External | • Military tension between Sudan, Egypt, and Ethiopia concerning the use of the Nile River are continuing. • In 2012 Israel launched an airstrike against a suspected weapon production site inside Sudan. • In late 2013 it was reported that Chad has launched military strikes against rebel targets in Sudan. |
| Internal | • Insurgencies are continuing in Darfur, the Blue Nile state, and the South Kordofan state. |
| Regional | • Security issues in Sudan’s neighboring states such as Chad, Egypt, and Ethiopia may affect Sudan’s foreign security policy. |
| Political | • Since 2011 and the advent of the Arab spring there has been increasing pressure on Sudan’s government to reform the country’s political system. |
| Economic | • Sudan’s economy grew substantially since the country started exporting oil but this has fallen dramatically since South Sudan became independent in 2011. • Agriculture still remains an important part of Sudan’s economy making up for 44 present of the country’s GDP. |
Contact:
Ministry of Defence
PO Box 291
Khartoum
Sudan
Tel +2491174910/72771
