Sudanese MiG-29 Shoots Down Emirati Transport Over Darfur With 40+ Colombian Mercenaries Onboard

The Sudanese Air Force has reportedly shot down a United Arab Emirates transport aircraft Near Nyala Airport in the south of the country’s Darfur region, which had been transporting over 40 Colombian military contractors and at least one senior UAE Army officer into the country. Although the fighter class that achieved the kill was not confirmed, the MiG-29 fighter and Su-24M strike fighter form the backbone of the Sudanese fleet, with the latter’s lack of any meaningful air-to-air capabilities making it almost certain that a MiG-29 was responsible. Sudan procured a squadron’s with of MiG-29s from Russia in the 2000s, with the Soviet-built airframes modernised to the MiG-29S standard and equipped with R-77 active radar guided air-to-air missiles and R-73 missiles with high off boresight targeting capabilities. MiG-29s have been deployed for strafing and close air support missions from April 2023 to combat the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group and other mercenary forces from Chad and Latin America, which have been financed and extensively supported by the United Arab Emirates and multiple European states.

The UAE Air Force transport in question took off from an Emirati military base at dawn on August 6 without registration as a civilian airliner, and flew at low altitudes with electronic jamming to avoid detection. After crossing the Red Sea, the aircraft stopped at a private airport in Chad where it refuelled and coordinated with a UAE Armed Forces field logistics network. Chad has served as a central hub for the UAE and its European strategic partners to carry out the war effort against Sudan, and has gained considerable revenues for allowing its territory to be used for the war. After the aircraft took off from Chad, it was closely monitored by Sudanese Air Force Intelligence units, reportedly in coordination with field operatives active at enemy airports. After the aircraft approached the runway at Nyala Airport, which is under the control of the Rapid Support Forces, orders were issued for the Sudanese Air Force to shoot it down. Sudanese sources reported: “precision-guided missile fired from a Sudanese fighter jet directly hit the plane, causing it to explode and burn completely.”

Colombian mercenary units have been deployed to bolster Chadian and other African mercenary forces on the ground in Sudan from 2024, with contractor personnel from across the Western world, and particularly from Australia, having reportedly also been hired for command operations and to operate some of the more complex hardware in use. After the aircraft’s downing, Colombian President Gustavo Petro tweeted that the Colombian government was trying to find out how many of its citizens had been killed in the attack. The participation of Colombian mercenary units first gained significant publicity in November 2024, when the Sudanese Armed Forces reported the success of major offensives against a large contingent of Colombian and French contractors that entered the country from across the Libyan border. Colombian mercenaries have played significant roles in a number of conflicts against the Western world’s adversaries, including fighting the Ansurullah Coalition in Yemen in the 2010s, with their role in the ongoing Russian-Ukrainain War reportedly continuing to grow as Ukraine faces mounting personnel shortages.