RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Sudan's army has destroyed at least six Chinese-made CH-95 drones since June 2026
The Akıncı costs roughly $25 million, twelve times more than the CH-95
Armed drones are now the leading cause of civilian deaths in Sudan
Sudan's civil war has continued since April 2023, when the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) first clashed across the country's cities and provinces.
Above the battlefields, a quieter contest has unfolded between two very different classes of unmanned aircraft flying for opposing sides.
A Turkish-built Bayraktar Akıncı has repeatedly intercepted Chinese-made CH-95 drones flown by the RSF this summer.
Turkish Akıncı takes on Chinese CH-95
The CH-95 is a medium-altitude, long-endurance aircraft built for reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and strike missions.
It weighs around 650 to 1,000 kilograms, carries a payload of up to 170 kilograms, and its endurance can exceed 12 hours depending on configuration, with a reported flight ceiling above 7,000 meters.
The Akıncı belongs to a substantially heavier class, with a maximum takeoff weight around 6,000 kilograms, payload capacity of up to 1,350 kilograms, and endurance exceeding 24 hours.
Its reported service ceiling is about 13,700 meters, while its wingspan is roughly 20 meters (66 feet).
According to footage shared by Clash Report on X , a Bayraktar Akıncı is shown engaging a Chinese-made CH-95 in midair.
The footage appears to capture the interception from the Akıncı’s perspective, with the opposing drone visible before the engagement ends.
The incident followed several other reported CH-95 and FH-95 losses since June 23, creating a growing pattern involving these aircraft families.
At least six Chinese-made drones have reportedly been destroyed since then, with several losses attributed to Akıncı interceptions.
A costly contest above Sudan
This drone contest above Sudan is proving to be very expensive both in human losses and financially.
Reported estimates show the Akıncı costs about $25 million per aircraft, while an Air University study puts the CH-95 near $2 million from Serbia's SIPRI-recorded purchase.
This is a lot of money to spend on drone warfare for a region that has practically been at war since 2003, when the first Darfur conflict erupted.
United Nations officials have separately warned that drone warfare is causing severe civilian harm across Sudan, especially in Kordofan and other contested regions.
“Armed drones have now become by far and away the leading cause of civilian deaths,” said Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The United Nations said drone strikes accounted for at least 880 civilian deaths between January and April 2026, representing more than 80% of conflict-related civilian deaths.
Those figures put the reported Akıncı and CH-95 encounters within a much broader drone war whose consequences extend well beyond military aircraft.
The Akıncı carries radar and air combat weapons, allowing it to engage aircraft without relying solely on ground-based air defenses.
That capability matters because the CH-95 is intended to remain airborne for long periods while gathering information across wide areas.
Sudanese forces have therefore used the Akıncı for a role differing from conventional armed drone missions against ground positions.
Earlier reports from July described an Akıncı firing an air combat missile at a CH-95 northwest of El Obeid in North Kordofan.
Another operation reportedly destroyed a second Chinese-made aircraft on the ground, although involved forces did not independently confirm those claims.
Human rights investigators have documented Chinese equipment among RSF weapons, while allegations of Emirati involvement in supply routes remain disputed.
The United Arab Emirates has repeatedly denied supplying military support to either side, making claims about specific aircraft difficult to independently verify.
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