Akinci drone downed in Sudan
On July 10, 2025, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan announced that they had shot down a Turkish-made Akinci drone belonging to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) over El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur.
According to RSF spokesperson Al-Fateh Qarashi, the drone was brought down last Thursday after carrying out a series of airstrikes that the RSF claims indiscriminately targeted civilian areas. The statement detailed how the bombings struck residential zones, hospitals, schools, and camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Zamzam, Kuma, and Mellit, painting a grim picture of the toll these operations have taken on the local population.
This event is the latest development in a brutal conflict between the SAF and the RSF that has ravaged Sudan since mid-2023, with both sides vying for control in a war that has already claimed at least 150,000 lives and displaced millions. The Akinci drone, a product of Baykar, Turkey’s largest defence contractor, represents a leap forward in unmanned aerial technology. Known as a high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), it is built for versatility, capable of executing air-to-ground and air-to-air combat missions. With a payload capacity exceeding 1,350 kg, the Akinci can carry an array of weapons, including laser-guided smart munitions, missiles like the SOM cruise missile, and air-to-air missiles.