Military of Sudan

The Sudan People's Armed Forces is a 117,000-member army supported by a strong Air Force and NavyFact|date=September 2008. Irregular tribal and former rebel militias and Popular Defence Forces supplement the army’s strength in the field. This is mixed force, having the additional duty of maintaining internal security. Some rebels who fought in the South were former army members. Sudan’s military forces have historically been hampered by limited and outdated equipment. In the 1980s, the U.S. worked with the Sudanese Government to upgrade equipment with special emphasis on airlift capacity and logistics. All U.S. military assistance was terminated following the military coup of 1989.

During the 1990s, periodic purges of the professional officer corps by the ruling Islamist regime has improved command authority as well as war-fighting capabilities. Oil revenues have allowed the government to purchase modern weapons systems, including Hind helicopter gun ships, F-7 fighters and fourth generation fighters such as the MiG-29, Antonov medium and long transport aircraft, mobile artillery pieces, and light assault weapons. Sudan now receives most of its military equipment from the People's Republic of China, Russia, and Libya in violation of a UN arms embargo in place since 2005. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1550936/China-and-Russia-defy-Sudan-arms-embargo.html]

Sudan has a weapons industry called the Military Industry Corporation, which has the military self-sufficient in conventional weapons such as ammunition, machine guns, mortars, artillery, rocket and armored vehicles, UAV's and Tanks. The Military Industry Corporation has become the most advanced producer of military weapons in Africa and the Middle East.

In September 2008, The MV Faina, a Ukranian cargo ship, was carrying a cargo of 33 T72 tanks, along with weapons & ammunition, headed to South Sudan, but it was hijacked by Somoli pirates. The fate of the cargo is unknown.

Sudan's ground forces currently operate
*M60,
*T-34
*250 T-54/55
*10 Type 59
*Type 62
*Type 63
*Type 88
[Digna MBT = T-55 (Russia)
*Al Basheer MBT = Type 85M-II (Russia)
*Al Zubair 1 MBT = Type 72Z (Iran)
*Al Zubair 2 MBT= similar to Type 59D (China)
*Abu Fatma SPG = 2S1 (Russia)
*Shareef 1 IFV= BTR-80A (Russia)
*Shareef 2 IFV = WZ551 (China)
*Amir IFV = Rakhsh (Iran)
*Khatim 1 IFV = Boragh (Iran)] Military branches:Army, NavyFact|date=September 2008, Air Force, Popular Defense Force Militia

Military manpower - military age:18 years of age

Military manpower - availability:
"males age 15-49:"8,739,982 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
"males age 15-49:"5,380,917 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
"males:"398,294 (2002 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:$3 Billion (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:3.0% (1999)

ources

[http://sudaninside.com/military-industry-corporation sudaninside.com Photos of sudanese military construction] Sudan topics