Yale HRL report: ‘Chinese UAVs identified at RSF-controlled South Darfur airport’
Sudanese Armed Forces with an unexploded one-way attack drone from the RSF recovered from an attack on a government building in El Gedaref on July 11, 2024 (File photo: HRW)
A report published yesterday by the Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) at the Yale School of Public Health identifies advanced unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at Nyala Airport, in the capital of South Darfur, currently under the control of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
According to the report, satellite imagery from December 2024 to January 2025 show three UAVs assessed as FH-95 drones, known for electronic surveillance, warfare, and strike capabilities.
Manufactured by China’s Aerospace Times Feihong Technology Company, FH-95 drones were first reportedly purchased by unnamed customers in 2019, with a significant order placed in 2021.
Questions remain over who supplied these UAVs to the RSF. The report notes that the arrival of the drones indicates “transfers of sophisticated military technology”, likely from an outside foreign actor.
Recent activity at Nyala Airport includes at least ten cargo flights recorded since September 2024. Between 14 December 2024 and 12 January 2025, satellite imagery identified 43 shipping containers at the site, supporting reports of large-scale cargo deliveries.
Possession of FH-95 drones, capable of long-range targeting and electronic warfare, significantly boosts the RSF’s operational capabilities.
These findings coincide with ongoing discussions in Washington about arms transfers to Sudan and whether the UAE, an alleged RSF sponsor, is continuing their supply of weaponry to the group.
Radio Dabanga reported on Monday, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) alleged that the RSF carried out drone strikes in on the hydroelectric Merowe Dam in Sudan’s Northern State.
The SAF accused the RSF of damaging power transformers for the second time in a week, leaving the surrounding areas without electricity, adding that this was a part of a campaign to cripple vital infrastructure.
A report from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data last month, recorded 1,001 air and drone attacks in 2024, with 703 airstrikes and 226 drone strikes conducted by the SAF.
The RSF carried out 12 successful drone strikes, intercepting 44 others, with Khartoum bearing the brunt of these aerial assaults.
Read the full report here: Special Report – Advanced UAVs Identified at RSF-Controlled Nyala Airport, by the Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale School of Public Health.
and then