Sudanese Armed Forces The Sudanese Armed Forces ( SAF ) are the armed forces of the Republic of Sudan . They number , according to 2011 IISS estimates , 109 , 300 . They comprises Land Forces , a Navy , an Air Force , and the Popular Defence Force . They also previously had Joint Integrated Units formed together with its rebel enemies the Sudan People ' s Liberation Army . The Armed Forces operate under the authority of the People ' s Armed Forces Act 1986 . In 1991 , the Library of Congress used the term ' Sudan People ' s Armed Forces ' to refer to the entire armed forces , but by the late 2000s ( decade ) , the ' Sudanese Armed Forces ' term was most widespread . In 2004 , the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress estimated that the Popular Defence Force , the military wing of the National Islamic Front , consists of 10 , 000 active members , with 85 , 000 reserves . It has been deployed alongside regular army units against various rebel groups . Sudan now receives most of its military equipment from the People ' s Republic of China and Russia . Sudan has a weapons production company called the Military Industry Corporation . Sudanese Army . The origins of the Sudanese Army date to Sudanese soldiers recruited by the British during the reconquest of Sudan in 1898 . Sudan officially became the Anglo - Egyptian Sudan in 1899 . The highest - ranking British officer in Egypt , known as the Sirdar , also served as Governor General of the Sudan . In 1922 , after nationalist riots stimulated by Egyptian leader Saad Zaghloul , Egypt was granted independence by the United Kingdom . The Egyptians wanted more oversight in the Sudan and created specialized units of Sudanese auxiliaries within the Egyptian Army called Al - Awtirah . This became the nucleus of the modern Sudanese Army . The British Army formed the Sudan Defence Force ( SDF ) as local auxiliaries in 1925 . The SDF consisted of a number of separate regiments . Most were made up of Muslim soldiers and stationed in the north , but the Equatoria Corps in the south was composed of Christians . During World War II , the SDF augmented allied forces engaging Italians in Ethiopia . They also served during the Western Desert Campaign , supporting Free French and Long Range Desert Group operations at Kufra and Jalo oases in the Libyan Desert . " In 1947 , the Sudanese military schools were closed , and the number of Sudanese troops was reduced to 7 , 570 . In 1948 , the first Arab - Israeli War broke out . Sudanese Colonel Harold Saleh Al - Malik selected 250 combat - seasoned soldiers who had seen action in World War II . They arrived in Cairo to participate in a parade and were then dispatched to various units of the Egyptian army . This was a grave mistake , for the Sudanese had fought together in World War II and this broke unit cohesion . The decision was indicative of Egyptian military planners of the period . Forty - three Sudanese were killed in action in the 1948 Arab - Israeli War . In 1953 , the British and the new Egyptian government reached an agreement that Sudan was to be put on the path of independence . General Ahmed Mohammed became Sudan ' s first army chief in August 1954 . This is significant for the Sudanese , for it was the first time it had an independent army that was not governed by Britain or Egypt . " In March 1954 British Troops in the Sudan consisted of one battalion stationed in Khartoum , reporting ultimately to the Governor - General . The Governor - General ' s military commander was the Major - General Commanding British Troops in the Sudan , who was also Commandant of the Sudan Defence Force . In this post from 1950 onward was Major General Reginald ' Cully ' Scoons . The last British troops , 1st Battalion Royal Leicestershire Regiment , left the country on 16 August 1955 . All of the British troops were gone by the end of August 1955 . The Equatoria Corps mutinied at Torit on 18 August 1955 , just before independence , prompting the formation of the Anyanya guerilla movement and the First Sudanese Civil War . A company of the Equatoria Corps had been ordered to make ready to move to the north , but instead of obeying , the troops mutinied , along with other Southern soldiers across the South in Juba , Yei , Yombo , and Maridi . " At independence in 1956 , Sudan ' s 5 , 000 - man army was regarded as a highly trained , competent , and apolitical force , but its character changed in succeeding years . To deal with the southern insurgency , the army expanded steadily to 12 , 000 personnel in 1959 and it leveled off at about 50 , 000 in 1972 . After independence , the military - particularly the educated officer corps - lost much of its former apolitical attitude ; soldiers associated themselves with parties and movements across the political spectrum . " On November 17 , 1958 , the army ' s two senior generals , Major General Ibrahim Abboud , the armed forces commander , and Ahmad Abd al Wahab , seized power in a military coup . Abboud was forced to step down in 1964 . During 1969 the Sudanese Army consisted of about 26 , 500 men , four infantry brigades of four battalions each , three independent infantry battalions , one armoured regiment , a parachute regiment , an armoured regiment and three artillery regiments . There were 50 Alvis Saladin s , 60 Ferret armoured car s , and 45 Commando armoured cars , about 50 25 - pounders , 40 105 - mm howitzers , 20 120 - mm mortars , and 80 Bofors 40 - mm guns . On May 25 , 1969 , several young officers , led by Colonel Jaafar an Nimeiri , seized power , thus bringing the army into political control for the second time . From 1969 until 1971 , a military government - the Revolutionary Command Council ( RCC ) , composed of nine young officers and one civilian - exercised authority over a largely civilian cabinet . The RCC represented only a faction within the military establishment . From 1971 Nimeiri led a more civilian - based government . The first civil war ended in a negotiated settlement in 1973 . Sudan sent at least one infantry brigade to the Sinai peninsula as a reinforcement to the Egyptian forces during the 1973 Yom Kippur War . It arrived too late , on October 28 , 1973 and saw no fighting . The Second Sudanese Civil War broke out again in 1982 and continued until 2005 . The Land Forces were " basically a light infantry force in 1991 , supported by specialized elements . Operational control extended from the headquarters of the general staff in Khartoum to the six regional commands ( central , eastern , western , northern , southern , and Khartoum ) . Each regional command was organized along divisional lines . Thus , the Fifth Division was at Al - Ubayyid in Kurdufan ( Central Command ) , the Second Division was at Khashm El Girba ( Eastern Command ) , the Sixth Division was assigned to Al - Fashir in Darfur ( Western Command ) , the First Division was at Juba ( Southern Command ) , and the Seventh [ Armoured ] Division was at As Shajarah just south of Khartoum ( Khartoum Command ) . The Airborne Division was based at Khartoum International Airport . The Third Division was located in the north , although no major troop units were assigned to it . Each division had a liaison officer attached to general headquarters in Khartoum to facilitate the division ' s communication with various command elements . This organisational structure did not provide an accurate picture of actual troop deployments . All of the divisions were understrength . The Sixth Division in Darfur was a reorganised brigade with only 2 , 500 personnel . Unit strengths varied widely . Most brigades were composed of 1 , 000 to 1 , 500 troops . " Keegan , writing in 1983 , indicated that the northern command was located at Shendi . To reduce the pressure on the regular armed forces , the Sudanese government made extensive use of militias , such as the South Sudan Defence Forces . This largely symbolic coalition of seven groups was formed with the signing of the Khartoum Peace Agreement with the NIF in 1997 . The SSDF was led by former Garang lieutenant Riek Machar . In 2007 the IISS estimated that the SAF had 104 , 800 personnel supported by 17 , 500 paramilitary personnel . Jane ' s Information Group said in May 2009 that ' There are a number of infantry divisions , divided among [ the six ] regional commands . The commander of each military region traditionally commanded the divisional and brigade commanders within his territory . It is understood that there are six infantry divisions and seven independent infantry brigades ; a mechanised division and an independent mechanised infantry brigade ; and an armoured division . Other elements are understood to include a Special Forces battalion with five companies ; an airborne division and a border guard brigade . Support elements include an engineer division . ' Jane ' s reported the army ' s strength as 100 , 000 plus militias . Afdevinfo has reported that the 1st Division at Juba has been disbanded . Jane ' s Sentinel reports that there are two engineer brigades supporting the 9th Airborne Division . Jane ' s Amphibious and Special Forces , 2010 , lists the 9th Airborne Division headquartered in Khartoum which includes two airborne brigades and the 144th Special Forces Battalion , an anti - terrorist unit . It also mentions the two engineer brigades for special forces support . Following the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement which ended the second civil war , the Sudanese Armed Forces formed joint military units with the Sudanese People ' s Liberation Army . These units , the Joint Integrated Units , were commanded by Major General Thomas Cirillo Swaka . With the probable dissolution of the JIUs following the Southern Sudanese independence referendum , 2011 , the SPLA components are expected to be either integrated back into the SPLA or be demobilised . The SPLA components however are a lesser concern than the SAF components . Many of the SAF JIU personnel are former militia ( ' Other Armed Groups ' or OAGs ) who were ' aligned ' rather than being formally ' incorporated ' within the northern army . ' Aside from regular SAF units in locations such as Malakal and Bor , many of the SAF elements of the JIUs hail from the areas where they are serving and have strong family ties in these locations . As with the SPLA components , integration into the SPLA or increased incentives to demobilize are the only options the SAF components are likely to consider — movement north being out of the question . ' The military and allied militias have fought in the Sudanese Civil War , the Darfur Conflict , the Sudan – SPLM - N conflict and the 2012 South Sudan - Sudan border conflict . Education and Training . The Military College at Wadi Sayyidna , near Omdurman , had been Sudan ' s primary source of officer training since it opened in 1948 . A two - year program , emphasizing study in political and military science and physical training , led to a commission as a second lieutenant in the SPAF . In the late 1970s and early 1980s , an average of 120 to 150 officers were graduated from the academy each year . In the late 1950s , roughly 60 graduated each year , peaking to more than 500 in early 1972 as a result of mobilisation brought on by the first southern rebellion . Students from other Arab and African countries were also trained at the Military College , and in 1982 sixty Ugandans were graduated as part of a Sudanese contribution to rebuilding the Ugandan army after Amin ' s removal from power . Equipment . The modern Sudanese Armed Forces is equipped mainly with Soviet , Russian , Chinese , Ukrainian , Iranian , and Sudanese manufactured weaponry . Significant data has been made available by the UN Experts ' Groups on the Sudan on arms supplies to Sudanese forces . The standard issue assault rifle is now an H & K G3 variant that is domestically manufactured . The IISS reported in 2007 that the SAF had 200 T - 54 / 55 main battle tank s and 70 Type 62 light tanks . The IISS reported 218 armoured cars ( 6 AML - 90 , 60 BRDM - 1 / 2 , 80 Ferret , 20 Rakhsh APC and 30 Alvis Saladin ) in 2007 , alongside 15 BMP - 2 . Also reported were 42 M - 113 , 19 LAV - 150 / V - 100 Commando , BTR - 152 / BTR - 50 , 20 OT - 62 / OT - 64 . 104 Egyptian Walid were ordered in 1981 - 1986 . The IISS estimated in 2011 that Sudan had 778 + artillery pieces , including 20 M - 101 , 16 D - 30 , D - 74 , M - 30 , and 75 130mm M - 46 / Type - 59 - I . The IISS estimated in 2011 that the Army had 20 pieces of self - propelled artillery , including 10 2S1 Gvozdika and 10 ( AMX ) Mk F3 . Multiple rocket launcher s include 122mm BM - 21 Grad and Type - 81 . Also reported were M43 mortar s ( 120mm ) . Anti - tank and anti - aircraft weapons reported included a number of Swingfire . 54 9K32 Strela - 2 ( SA - 7 Grail ) were reported , and many anti - aircraft guns . According to a UN official document , Sudan also allegedly has 10 T - 72s provided by Ukraine . Air Force . The Sudanese Air Force runs a mixture of planes , including Mil Mi - 24 attack helicopters , Chengdu J - 7 fighters , MiG - 29 fighters , Su - 25 close air support aircraft , and Q - 5 ' Fantan ' ground attack aircraft , and Antonov medium and long transport aircraft . There are reports of Iranian support to the Air Force and the rest of the armed forces . A long - established training centre and airbase is at Wadi Sayyidna , where No . 2 Fighter - Attack Squadron SuAF operated J - 7s for a period . The Military Balance 2009 said that in addition to Wadi Sayyidna ( north of Omdurman ) , the other main air base was at Khartoum International Airport . The Military Balance also said that El Geneina , Nyala and El Fasher have been used for Darfur operations , and that aircrew training had been reported at Dezful - Ardestani air base ( Dezful Airport ? ) , in southern Iran . The Armed Forces have suffered significant numbers of senior personnel killed in several aircraft crashes , in 2001 , and in August 2012 . Navy . " Jane ' s Fighting Ships " for 1999 - 2000 stated that the Sudanese navy was established in 1962 to operate on the Red Sea coast and the River Nile . In 1999 , estimated naval strength was 1 , 300 officers and men . Reported bases were at Port Sudan and Flamingo Bay on the Red Sea and at Khartoum . The navy had two 70 - ton , 75 - foot , coastal patrol craft , " Kadir " ( 129 ) and " Karari " ( 130 ) , both transferred from the Iranian Coast Guard to Sudan in 1975 , as well as sixteen inshore patrol craft and two supply ships . The navy , according to 2004 estimates from the International Institute for Strategic Studies , now has 1 , 800 personnel , and a base at Marsa Gwayawi on the Red Sea .