Sudan Army AKINCI Drone Shoots Down Another RSF Chinese-Made CH-95

The Sudanese Armed Forces on Monday shot down another Chinese-manufactured CH-95 drone operated by the UAE-backed Rapid Support Forces in an air-to-air engagement, utilizing a Turkish-built Bayraktar AKINCI combat aerial vehicle.

The destruction of the unmanned aircraft marks the latest successful aerial interception by the Sudanese military's Turkish-supplied heavy drone fleet against the paramilitary group's Chinese-built long-range assets.

This is the second RSF-operated CH-95 to be shot down by an AKINCI drone in the past week after another encounter on Saturday.

Expanding Air-to-Air Dominance

The interception follows a pattern of combat air patrols by the army's AKINCI platforms, which previously destroyed an RSF-operated CH-95 northwest of El Obeid in North Kordofan using air-to-air guided munitions.

That engagement formed part of a documented sequence of at least five Chinese-manufactured drone losses sustained by the paramilitary formation within weeks, including both CH-95 and larger FH-95 models across White Nile State, North Darfur, and North Kordofan.

By employing the AKINCI’s onboard radar and air-to-air munitions rather than ground-based air defenses, the military has altered the tactical parameters of the skies, engaging hostile reconnaissance assets well before they reach government logistics hubs.

Asymmetric Air Battle

The aerial confrontation pits two distinct tiers of unmanned technology against each other across Sudan's contested airspace.

The RSF's Chinese-built CH-95 operates as a 650-kilogram platform with a 170-kilogram payload capacity, six to 12 hours of flight endurance, and a service ceiling of 7,000 meters.

The system provides the paramilitary group with synthetic aperture radar, electro-optical reconnaissance, and communications relay infrastructure to coordinate dispersed ground units.

In contrast, the Turkish-manufactured Bayraktar AKINCI has a maximum takeoff weight of 6,000 kilograms, an endurance of more than 24 hours, and a service ceiling above 13,700 meters.

Equipped with an active electronically scanned array radar, the platform maintains a substantial altitude and speed advantage over the slower Chinese-made aircraft.

This technical margin lets the AKINCI cruise well above hostile drones, track airborne targets regardless of optical visibility, and launch missiles from dominant positions.