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Sudan's Unique Foreign Policy and How the Su-35 Will Alter the Dynamics of Power in the Middle East and North East Africa
Sudan's acquisition of its first Russian built Su-35 air superiority fighters in November 2017 came as a surprise to a number of African and Missile Eastern states - many of which will face significant repercussions from Khartoum's newfound power. Sudan's foreign policy has changed drastically over the years, and the country has never consistently tied itself to any regional alliance or power bloc. Sudan was until the early 2010s a close Iranian military partner, receiving military aid from Tehran and suffering air strikes from Israeli fighters on several occasions as a result. This policy later shifted, with Khartoum expelling Iranian military advisers in 2014 and closing the embassy soon afterwards. The country then contributed a small force to the Saudi military intervention in Yemen, and appeared to have aligned itself with Saudi Arabia - itself a Western partner and enemy of Sudan's former ally Iran. Membership of the Saudi-led Middle Eastern bloc however also proved not to be absolute, as when Saudi Arabia and its allies unanimously cut diplomatic ties to Qatar Sudan refused requests to follow suit or involve itself in the dispute - and has since maintained both diplomatic and military ties to Qatar. The country was also one of the few Saudi partners which, while cutting relations with Iran, maintained close bilateral relations with Riyadh's second regional adversary - the Syrian Arab Republic. Indeed, by stating that the Syrian war was directly a result of US intervention - rather than blaming the country's own government and president as was common for Saudi and Western allies - Sudan took a stance entirely contrary to that of the Arab Gulf States.
Sudan's foreign policy was neither aligned with the Saudi bloc, nor with that of Qatar, nor with the Iranian-Syrian bloc so vehemently opposed by the Arab Gulf States. The country's acquisition of around 40 Su-35 fighter jets - more advanced than those in service anywhere in the world other than the United State, China and Russia - eclipsing even potent systems such as the Saudi F-15SA and Israeli F-15I, is there for set to have a significant impact on the balance of power in the Middle East and North East Africa (MENEA). What this impact will be is difficult to predict - but it will certainly enhance Khartoum's position from an unremarkable military force surrounded by nations armed to the teeth into a major aerial power.
With Saudi Arabia, Israel and Iran long holding a monopoly of advanced air superiority fighters in the MENEA region, fielding 62, 58 and 30 F-15 - and in Iran's case F-14 - fighters respectively, Sudan's acquisition of 40 Su-35 fighters has made it a major player capable of projecting power across the Arabian Peninsula. While a fleet of around 60 fourth generation high performance F-15s are potent, a fleet of 40 4+ generation supermaneuverable Su-35s - assuming equal quality of pilots - would arguably have an advantage. This has significant implications for the entire region - and makes currying favor with Khartoum all the more important for all regional parties.
In Africa the shift in powers is set to be even more profound. Both Ethiopia and Eritrea, both fielding Su-27 fighters, formerly held an advantage over the Sudanese Air Force which with the induction of the Su-35 is lost entirely. With Khartoum maintaining good relations with the two, this will not be a major cause of concern for either state. Sudan's territorial dispute with Egypt over the disputed Hala'ib triangle however, combined with the country's now overwhelming technological advantage, bode ill for Cairo. Egypt's Air Force has nothing even close to matching the F-15 - let alone the Su-35 - with its fleet comprised entirely of light multirole platforms. Egypt does however field well over 200 light F-16 fighters and several hundred other platforms such as the MiG-21, Mirage-2000 and F-4. While these are all far from outstanding in their capabilities, they give Egypt a good chance of overwhelming Sudan's Air Force through sheer weight of numbers. The fact remains however that in any border skirmish Egypt would lose far more pilots and fighters than Sudan - likely an order of magnitude greater or more as it would be at a disadvantage in both visual and beyond visual range combat. In the eyes of the Egyptian population, which long perceived Sudan to be an underdeveloped southern neighbor, such one sided losses in Sudan's favor even if a final victory were achieved would appear equivalent to a defeat.
Shown below: Su-35 Air Superiority Fighter (x2); Royal Saudi Air Force F-15SA; Israeli Air Force F-15; Egyptian Air Force MiG-21; Egyptian Air Force Mirage-2000; Egyptian Air Force F-16
If countries such as Sudan can buy su35 why cant Pakistan negotiate a deal..
Sudan's acquisition of its first Russian built Su-35 air superiority fighters in November 2017 came as a surprise to a number of African and Missile Eastern states - many of which will face significant repercussions from Khartoum's newfound power. Sudan's foreign policy has changed drastically over the years, and the country has never consistently tied itself to any regional alliance or power bloc. Sudan was until the early 2010s a close Iranian military partner, receiving military aid from Tehran and suffering air strikes from Israeli fighters on several occasions as a result. This policy later shifted, with Khartoum expelling Iranian military advisers in 2014 and closing the embassy soon afterwards. The country then contributed a small force to the Saudi military intervention in Yemen, and appeared to have aligned itself with Saudi Arabia - itself a Western partner and enemy of Sudan's former ally Iran. Membership of the Saudi-led Middle Eastern bloc however also proved not to be absolute, as when Saudi Arabia and its allies unanimously cut diplomatic ties to Qatar Sudan refused requests to follow suit or involve itself in the dispute - and has since maintained both diplomatic and military ties to Qatar. The country was also one of the few Saudi partners which, while cutting relations with Iran, maintained close bilateral relations with Riyadh's second regional adversary - the Syrian Arab Republic. Indeed, by stating that the Syrian war was directly a result of US intervention - rather than blaming the country's own government and president as was common for Saudi and Western allies - Sudan took a stance entirely contrary to that of the Arab Gulf States.
Sudan's foreign policy was neither aligned with the Saudi bloc, nor with that of Qatar, nor with the Iranian-Syrian bloc so vehemently opposed by the Arab Gulf States. The country's acquisition of around 40 Su-35 fighter jets - more advanced than those in service anywhere in the world other than the United State, China and Russia - eclipsing even potent systems such as the Saudi F-15SA and Israeli F-15I, is there for set to have a significant impact on the balance of power in the Middle East and North East Africa (MENEA). What this impact will be is difficult to predict - but it will certainly enhance Khartoum's position from an unremarkable military force surrounded by nations armed to the teeth into a major aerial power.
With Saudi Arabia, Israel and Iran long holding a monopoly of advanced air superiority fighters in the MENEA region, fielding 62, 58 and 30 F-15 - and in Iran's case F-14 - fighters respectively, Sudan's acquisition of 40 Su-35 fighters has made it a major player capable of projecting power across the Arabian Peninsula. While a fleet of around 60 fourth generation high performance F-15s are potent, a fleet of 40 4+ generation supermaneuverable Su-35s - assuming equal quality of pilots - would arguably have an advantage. This has significant implications for the entire region - and makes currying favor with Khartoum all the more important for all regional parties.
In Africa the shift in powers is set to be even more profound. Both Ethiopia and Eritrea, both fielding Su-27 fighters, formerly held an advantage over the Sudanese Air Force which with the induction of the Su-35 is lost entirely. With Khartoum maintaining good relations with the two, this will not be a major cause of concern for either state. Sudan's territorial dispute with Egypt over the disputed Hala'ib triangle however, combined with the country's now overwhelming technological advantage, bode ill for Cairo. Egypt's Air Force has nothing even close to matching the F-15 - let alone the Su-35 - with its fleet comprised entirely of light multirole platforms. Egypt does however field well over 200 light F-16 fighters and several hundred other platforms such as the MiG-21, Mirage-2000 and F-4. While these are all far from outstanding in their capabilities, they give Egypt a good chance of overwhelming Sudan's Air Force through sheer weight of numbers. The fact remains however that in any border skirmish Egypt would lose far more pilots and fighters than Sudan - likely an order of magnitude greater or more as it would be at a disadvantage in both visual and beyond visual range combat. In the eyes of the Egyptian population, which long perceived Sudan to be an underdeveloped southern neighbor, such one sided losses in Sudan's favor even if a final victory were achieved would appear equivalent to a defeat.
Shown below: Su-35 Air Superiority Fighter (x2); Royal Saudi Air Force F-15SA; Israeli Air Force F-15; Egyptian Air Force MiG-21; Egyptian Air Force Mirage-2000; Egyptian Air Force F-16
If countries such as Sudan can buy su35 why cant Pakistan negotiate a deal..
