Fighters in exchange for a base. Russia wants to build a large military port in Sudan

Sudan and Russia have resumed talks on a deal under which Moscow would provide Khartoum with Su-30 and Su-35 fighter jets in exchange for the rights to build a large naval base on the Red Sea.

According to think tank MilitaryWatchMagazine, the current talks are seen as a renegotiation of a long-delayed agreement initially reached in 2020 that was postponed due to political instability and later the outbreak of civil war in Sudan.

Khartoum already announced plans to purchase the Su-35 at the end of 2017, right after then-President Omar al-Bashir's visit to Moscow. But two years later, al-Bashir was overthrown in a Western-backed coup and talks about the base were suspended.

The vision of building a Russian naval base on a key world trade route became even more distant when Sudan bought several Chinese JL-9 training planes and was in talks with Beijing about purchasing the advanced J-10C fighter.

But these firefights also had to be suspended because in April 2023, a civil war broke out in the North African country.

In early November 2025, Russian ambassador to Sudan Andrei Chornovol confirmed that “given the current armed conflict, movement on this matter has been suspended for the time being.”

However, according to MilitaryWatchMagazine, Russia does not give up and continues to make proposals to Sudan.

Currently, the Sudanese air fleet consists mainly of MiG-29 fighters, purchased 20 years ago, and Su-24M, purchased a little later from Belarus. And the purchase of the Su-35 and Su-30 would allow the retirement of both of these obsolete types of machines and provide much greater combat capabilities to war-ravaged Sudan.

However, MilitaryWatchMagazine points out that Khartoum may not make a good deal for itself. The planes offered by the Kremlin are large and heavy, very expensive to purchase, maintain and maintain, which the Sudanese Air Force may not be able to cope with. Moreover, contrary to Russia's propaganda, these are not the most advanced combat aircraft in terms of avionics or armament, and they are far from the Chinese J-10C, not to mention Western fighters.

Despite these shortcomings, the Su-35 finds buyers in African countries. Algeria has them, they will soon be delivered to Ethiopia, and earlier they were ordered by Egypt, a neighbor of Sudan, which, however, withdrew from the transaction under pressure from the West. Algeria, Ethiopia, Angola and Uganda have less advanced Su-30s. (PAP)

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