Article Posted on : - Feb 01, 2010

Mi-35 Attack helicopter. US Air Force Photo

NEW DELHI (BNS): Sudan has received a range of Russian military aircraft for use in fighting off rebels in Darfur, a media report said.

Sudanese Air Force has been deploying Russian fixed- and rotary-wing platforms for conventional warfare and counter-insurgency operations, according to worldtribune.com .

The air force has been operating four Russian Mi-35 attack helicopters in attacks on rebels in the Darfur province, the website quoting industry sources said.

Apart from Russia’s Su-25 Frogfoot fighter-jet, Sudan also introduced eight Su-25s, deployed at the Wadi Seidna Air Base, for operational service during 2009.

This year Sudan will receive additional Russian aircraft, the MiG-29 fighter-jet, a contract of which was signed in November 2008.

Sudan has accumulated a fleet of 12 MiG-29s. They include 10 MiG-29SEs as well as two MiG-29UBs, all of them delivered in 2004.