New Delhi: Sudan’s air force last Friday is believed to have shot down a Turkey-made combat drone using an identical Turkey-made drone from its own fleet—what is already being described as a drone-on-drone aerial kill.
According to reports, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) intercepted a Bayraktar Akinci unmanned aerial vehicle near Ad-Damazin on 23 May, approximately 75 kilometres from the Ethiopian border. The drone is believed to have entered Sudanese airspace from Ethiopian territory.Khartoum alleges the drone belonged to the Ethiopian Air Force and was being operated as part of a UAE-backed proxy campaign in support of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary rebel faction at war with Sudan’s government.
The SAF has earlier accused both the UAE and Ethiopia of aggression against Sudan. “What Ethiopia and the UAE have done is direct aggression against Sudan and won’t be met with silence,” it was quoted as saying in a 5 May report by Al Jazeera.It was the second such intercept this month. Earlier in May, Sudan’s air defences downed another drone from the same fleet north of El-Obeid.Sudan’s technical teams said they analysed the UAV’s data and confirmed that the drone—serial number S88—belongs to the UAE.The UAE has not made any statement publicly about the latest accusation, but it has repeatedly denied any involvement in backing RSF.
