{"id":62369,"date":"2026-11-07T23:26:12","date_gmt":"2026-11-07T20:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/?p=62369"},"modified":"2026-11-07T23:26:12","modified_gmt":"2026-11-07T20:26:12","slug":"drones-worth-millions-of-dollars-how-are-they-changing-the-course-of-the-war-in-sudan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/07\/drones-worth-millions-of-dollars-how-are-they-changing-the-course-of-the-war-in-sudan\/","title":{"rendered":"Drones Worth Millions of Dollars: How Are They Changing the Course of the War in Sudan?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) advance in North Kordofan, the military announced that it had shot down an FH-95 drone south of the Al-Khuwei area in West Kordofan State. The development reflects the growing presence of drones in military operations and the expanding scope of their use in the ongoing war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a press statement issued by its spokesperson on Thursday, November 5, the Sudanese Armed Forces said that air defences had successfully shot down an enemy FH-95 drone south of Al-Khuwei in West Kordofan State on Thursday evening.<\/strong><\/p>\n

From Conventional Clashes to Long-Range Drones<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

This is the second announcement of its kind in less than a week concerning the interception of a drone by the Sudanese army’s air defences. Earlier in the week, the army announced that it had shot down an enemy drone which, according to its statement, had crossed the border from Ethiopia into the Blue Nile region.<\/strong><\/p>\n

On October 5, the army announced that it had shot down another drone of the same model in an area west of Al-Khuwei in West Kordofan State. On October 19, it also announced the interception of a drone that had attempted to target Khartoum International Airport, with its wreckage falling east of the capital.<\/strong><\/p>\n

These developments point to the growing role of drones in military operations, alongside the army’s increasing reliance on its air-defence systems to counter them.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, concerns continue to mount over the human casualties caused by aerial attacks. The Transitional Sovereignty Council reported that 484 people had been killed in drone attacks during October 2026, attributing those attacks to the Rapid Support Forces.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The significance of advanced drones lies not only in their ability to fly long distances and carry out attacks, but also in the sophisticated operational systems on which they depend. Such aircraft are not usually sold as standalone platforms. Instead, they are supplied as integrated packages that include control and guidance stations, ammunition and the equipment required for operation. The cost of these systems is estimated at millions of dollars.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Turkey’s Bayraktar Ak\u0131nc\u0131 is among the most prominent advanced drones capable of flying at high altitudes over long distances. It also provides operators with surveillance, reconnaissance and strike capabilities using precision-guided munitions.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Arms Supplies and the Routes Through Which Drones Reach the Battlefield<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

As the war in Sudan enters its fourth year, concerns are growing over the consequences of the flow of modern and advanced weapons to both sides of the conflict, amid warnings of an expanding arms build-up and increasing reliance on modern military technologies.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sudan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Al-Harith Idris, referred in a briefing to the UN Security Council in August 2026 to the supply of weapons to the Rapid Support Forces through regional and international routes, warning of the growing level of armament within the force.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the same briefing, the Sudanese representative referred to the airports of El Fasher and Nyala in the Darfur region, as well as Am Jars Airport in Chad, in discussing air routes associated with the delivery of weapons and military equipment.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Against this backdrop, the Sudanese army conducted intensive airstrikes between September and October 2026 around Nyala Airport in South Darfur State. Government officials have described the airport as a major hub for supplying the Rapid Support Forces with weapons and fighters.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Military operations in Sudan have increasingly shifted towards the use of modern combat technologies rather than relying exclusively on conventional methods of warfare. This has included the deployment of advanced drones, among them the Bayraktar Ak\u0131nc\u0131, manufactured by Turkish company Baykar, which is capable of carrying approximately 1.5 tonnes of munitions, according to the aircraft’s published specifications.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Human Casualties: The Other Face of Drone Warfare<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

On the humanitarian front, aerial strikes and drone attacks have caused substantial loss of life during the current year, with estimates indicating that approximately 1,120 people have been killed.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The pace of attacks intensified throughout September and October and into early November. The government reported that 484 people were killed in October alone. Media reports citing Reuters also stated that 153 people were killed in the Na’am Market area of Abyei last month.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As the use of drones expands across the battlefields, the consequences of the arms race are no longer limited to changes in the military capabilities of the two sides. They also extend to exposing civilians to increasingly serious risks, while the war continues without any clear indications that an end is near.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) advance in North Kordofan, the military announced that it had shot down an FH-95 drone south of the Al-Khuwei area in West Kordofan State. The development reflects the growing presence of drones in military operations and the expanding scope of their use in the ongoing war between the army …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":47923,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62369"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62370,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62369\/revisions\/62370"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}