Conflict catalog
2023 Sudan War: Weapons and Equipment
A conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces that began in April 2023 and has featured air strikes, drones, armored vehicles, artillery, and proliferated air-defense weapons.
The 2023 Sudan War is an ongoing conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces that began in Khartoum and quickly spread across Darfur, Kordofan, Al Jazirah, Sennar, and other regions. Fighting has shifted between urban sieges, mobile ground offensives, air and artillery strikes, UAV attacks, and contested supply corridors linking central Sudan with Darfur and neighboring states.
This catalog tracks weapon systems with direct source-backed use, fielding, capture, or transfer in the 2023 Sudan War.
Entries focus on equipment that can be tied to one of the two main belligerents through reliable conflict-specific evidence.
33 weapon systemsConflict Actors
Sudanese Armed Forces / Rapid Support Forces
Rapid Support Forces
18 weapon systems in this catalogContext
- Status
- Published catalog
- Location
- Sudan, centered on Khartoum with major fronts in Darfur, Kordofan, Al Jazirah, Sennar, and Blue Nile
- Countries
- Sudan
- Regions
- Khartoum State, Darfur, Kordofan, Al Jazirah, Sennar, Blue Nile, Red Sea
- Domains
- land, air, UAV, air defense, artillery, urban warfare, border clashes
The catalog should treat the 2023 Sudan War as a mixed land, air, and UAV conflict rather than a single-front civil war. Documented equipment roles include air defense around low-flying aircraft and UAVs, artillery and rocket fire in urban sieges, armored and pickup-mounted mobility, drones for strike and reconnaissance, and anti-armor or infantry weapons captured in dispersed ground fighting. Open-source evidence is uneven: many images come from belligerent channels, some claims are disputed, and conflict-use entries should be limited to systems that can be tied directly to SAF or RSF use, possession, capture, or transfer.
Map
Sudan, centered on Khartoum with major fronts in Darfur, Kordofan, Al Jazirah, Sennar, and Blue Nile
Map data from OpenStreetMap contributors.
Timeline
Key Events
SAF-RSF fighting begins
Heavy clashes erupted between SAF and RSF forces in Khartoum, Merowe, and other areas after tensions over security-force integration, opening a war that rapidly spread beyond the capital.
Sources: ACLED Watchlist 2024, OHCHR El Fasher Siege Report
RSF seizes Wad Madani
The RSF took Wad Madani, capital of Al Jazirah and a major refuge and humanitarian hub south of Khartoum, after several days of fighting.
Sources: Guardian Wad Madani Report, ACLED Two Years of War
El Fasher siege hardens
By May 2024, RSF and allied militia forces had encircled El Fasher, the last major Darfur state capital outside RSF control, cutting SAF and allied forces from regular support channels.
Sources: OHCHR El Fasher Siege Report
SAF opens a Khartoum counteroffensive
SAF units launched coordinated attacks across Khartoum, Omdurman, and Bahri, using air and artillery support to reconnect besieged bases and challenge RSF control in the tri-city capital.
Sources: ACLED Khartoum Offensive, ACLED Two Years of War
SAF retakes Wad Madani
Sudan's army recaptured Wad Madani, restoring control over a strategic road, agricultural, and logistics hub that links central Sudan with several other states.
Sources: Al Jazeera Wad Madani Recapture, ACLED Two Years of War
SAF announces control of Khartoum city
After recapturing the presidential palace and surrounding government district, the SAF announced full control of Khartoum city, marking a major shift in the central Sudan battlefield.
Sources: ACLED Two Years of War
UN reports RSF entered El Fasher
UNFPA reported that RSF forces entered El Fasher after more than 540 days of siege, triggering a severe protection and access crisis in North Darfur.
Sources: UNFPA El Fasher Flash Update
UN warns of expanding drone warfare
AP reported the UN human rights chief's warning that armed drones had sharply escalated in Sudan, with both warring parties increasingly using explosive UAVs against civilian infrastructure and other targets.
Sources: AP Drone Warfare 2026
Phases
Outbreak and Urban-Darfur Expansion
The war opened with fighting in Khartoum and other military centers, then expanded into Darfur and Kordofan as RSF forces entrenched in the capital and captured several Darfur state capitals.
RSF Central Sudan Push
RSF control of Wad Madani and much of Darfur widened the war's geographic scope, threatened SAF-held central corridors, and made El Fasher the key remaining Darfur stronghold outside RSF control.
SAF Counteroffensive in the Central Corridor
SAF offensives in Khartoum, Al Jazirah, Sennar, and nearby corridors reconnected besieged forces, retook Wad Madani, and shifted momentum in central Sudan.
Western Fronts and Drone Escalation
After SAF gains in central Sudan, the war increasingly centered on Darfur, Kordofan, cross-border supply networks, parallel-government efforts, and expanding UAV attacks by both sides.
External Support
External support is central to the equipment picture but often disputed or denied. EUAA summarized reporting that both SAF and RSF sought outside support, including Iranian drone assistance to SAF, alleged UAE-facilitated support to RSF through Chad, and wider links involving Egypt, Libya, Russia, and other regional actors. The Sudan Conflict Observatory summarized evidence of UAE and Iran facilitating weapons to opposing sides, while Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch documented recently transferred foreign-made weapons and equipment in Sudan and warned that the Darfur-focused arms embargo has not prevented battlefield flows.
Images
Weapons
2023 Sudan War Weapon Systems
Role
Fire Support
Provided supporting fire for troops, vehicles, or maneuver units.
Role
Long-Range Strike
Attacked targets far behind the front line, such as bases, depots, headquarters, or infrastructure.
Role
Interdiction
Disrupted enemy movement, reinforcements, logistics, supply routes, or staging areas.
Role
Reconnaissance & Surveillance
Used to observe, locate, track, or monitor enemy forces.
Role
Targeting Support
Helped identify, designate, or correct fire against targets for other weapons.
News
Latest 2023 Sudan War News
Sudan's Drone War Is Expanding Beyond The Front Line
2023 Sudan WarFH-95 UAVGB50A guided bombMohajer-6Bayraktar TB2Ababil-3 UAVFPV dronesFresh UN and AP warnings around El Obeid show Sudan's drone war moving deeper into civilian infrastructure, while public reporting identifies FH-95, GB50A, Mohajer-6, Bayraktar TB2, Ababil-3/Zajil-3 and FPV-style drones in the wider campaign.Sources: Associated Press, The Guardian, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Al Jazeera, Amnesty International, Sudan Tribune, Africa Defense Forum, Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, Forbes
Conflict Sources
Sudan battlefield reporting is fast-moving and often depends on remote sensing, local monitors, humanitarian reporting, and belligerent media later checked by investigators. External-support claims are especially contested; this metadata uses cautious language where states or armed groups deny reported transfers.
- ACLED Watchlist 2024Publisher: ACLED | Note: Supports outbreak context, principal belligerents, Khartoum and Darfur fronts, and the shift from a power struggle to a nationwide conflict. | Accessed: 2026-06-20
- OHCHR El Fasher Siege ReportPublisher: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights | Note: Supports the start of hostilities in Khartoum and Merowe, the spread to Darfur, RSF control of most Darfur states by late 2023, and the El Fasher siege from May 2024. | Accessed: 2026-06-20
- Guardian Wad Madani ReportPublisher: The Guardian | Note: Supports the RSF seizure of Wad Madani on 18 December 2023 and the city's role as a refuge and aid hub. | Accessed: 2026-06-20
- ACLED Two Years of WarPublisher: ACLED | Note: Supports SAF's 2024-2025 counteroffensive, the March 2025 Khartoum shift, Wad Madani context, Darfur dynamics, drone use, and foreign-equipment context. | Accessed: 2026-06-20
- ACLED Khartoum OffensivePublisher: ACLED | Note: Supports the 26 September 2024 SAF offensive in the Khartoum tri-city area and the use of airstrikes, artillery, and bridge operations. | Accessed: 2026-06-20
- Al Jazeera Wad Madani RecapturePublisher: Al Jazeera | Note: Supports the SAF recapture of Wad Madani in January 2025 and the city's strategic role in central Sudan logistics. | Accessed: 2026-06-20
- UNFPA El Fasher Flash UpdatePublisher: United Nations Population Fund | Note: Supports the October 2025 report that RSF forces entered El Fasher after more than 540 days of siege. | Accessed: 2026-06-20
- AP Drone Warfare 2026Publisher: Associated Press | Note: Supports the June 2026 UN warning on sharply expanded drone warfare and UAV attacks on civilian infrastructure in Sudan. | Accessed: 2026-06-20
- EUAA Sudan Security Situation 2025Publisher: European Union Agency for Asylum | Note: Supports external-support context, including reported Iranian drone support to SAF, allegations of UAE support to RSF, and links involving Egypt, Libya, Russia, and regional actors. | Accessed: 2026-06-20
- Sudan Conflict Observatory Foreign FacilitatorsPublisher: Sudan Conflict Observatory | Note: Supports external-support context by summarizing evidence of UAE and Iran facilitating weapons to opposing sides in Sudan's civil war. | Accessed: 2026-06-20
- Amnesty Arms Flows ReportPublisher: Amnesty International | Note: Supports the assessment that recently manufactured or recently transferred weapons from multiple countries are entering Sudan and that the Darfur-only embargo has limited effect. | Accessed: 2026-06-20
- HRW Fanning the FlamesPublisher: Human Rights Watch | Note: Supports weapon-context caveats on modern foreign-made weapons, drones, drone jammers, anti-tank weapons, and the limits of open-source identification. | Accessed: 2026-06-20
- Commons Composite MapPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and licensing page for the Sudanese Civil War Composite Map, listed as CC BY-SA 4.0. | Accessed: 2026-06-20
- Commons Al-Jaili Refinery FirePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and licensing page for the NASA MODIS Al-Jaili refinery fire image, listed as public domain because it was created by NASA. | Accessed: 2026-06-20
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