It was reported that the Baykar-produced AKINCI TİHA shot down a Chinese-made CH-95 type UAV used by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan, with another air-to-air engagement.
A new one has been added to the air combats in which unmanned aerial vehicles were mutually used in the civil war in Sudan. According to the information spread in the last hours, the Baykar-produced AKINCI TİHA in the Sudanese Army inventory neutralized a Chinese-made CH-95 type UAV used by the RSF with an air-to-air engagement near Nyala.
The latest information reflected in open sources shows that the incident in question is the new link in the chain of engagements reported by AKINCI against CH-95/FH-95 class Chinese-made unmanned aerial vehicles in Sudan. However, since a significant part of the developments in the conflict zone are followed through social media images and sources close to the parties, not all technical details of the operations have been independently verified.
Previous engagement with EREN missile confirmed
The incident in which the connection between AKINCI and EREN was most clearly revealed took place on September 20. It was reported that the Sudanese Army's AKINCI shot down the Chinese-made CH-95 used by the RSF in an air-to-air engagement with the EREN missile developed by ROKETSAN.
The images of the debris that emerged after the incident in question also revealed that there were various ammunition in the weapon stations of the downed CH-95. Thus, a new example from the field emerged that AKINCI is used not only in reconnaissance-surveillance and classical air-ground missions, but also in a way that it can directly target another unmanned aerial vehicle in air combat.
However, there is no official statement at this stage that the ammunition used in the last CH-95 engagement reported on September 27 was EREN. Therefore, the emphasis on EREN in the title is based on the fact that AKINCI had previously used EREN against the same target family in Sudan, while the ammunition type of the last hit has been finalized and is now a claim.
AKINCI's air-air missions come one after the other
The latest development took place during a period when AKINCI's air-air missions in Sudan continued at short intervals.
On September 24, images and information that AKINCIs in Sudan shot down two different CH-95 UCAVs on the same day were reflected to the public. The report that a new CH-95 was shot down by AKINCI just a few days after this incident is an important field indicator of the intensity of the unmanned aerial vehicle struggle in Sudan.
One of the striking points here is that the targets AKINCI faces are unmanned systems in the same category. The CH-95/FH-95 family consists of Chinese-made platforms that can stay in the air for long periods of time and can be used in reconnaissance-surveillance and attack missions. There are many open source reports about the use of these systems by RSF in the conflicts in Sudan.
Sudan has become a real operating environment for AKINCI's air-air capability
The use of AKINCI's air-to-air capability in Sudan should not be evaluated independently of the test activities carried out in Turkey.
It was announced that AKINCI was used with various ammunition against different air targets in the tests previously carried out by Baykar. In addition to the platform's air-to-air engagement with ROKETSAN EREN, the test in which a high-speed target UAV was hit with SUNGUR in September was also announced to the public.
When these developments are evaluated together, it can be seen that AKINCI's mission concept has moved to a broader framework than just the use of classical armed UAVs. Platform; Thanks to its high payload capacity, long airtime, advanced electro-optical sensors and ability to carry different ammunition, it gains mission flexibility that can be used against air targets as well as air-ground missions.
The importance of the operations in Sudan also emerges here. While the tests in Turkey are ammunition and platform verification activities carried out under controlled conditions, the CH-95 engagements reported in Sudan constitute field examples of the use of these capabilities in a real conflict environment.
The distinction between CH-95 and FH-95 is important
When reporting the latest developments in Sudan, the names CH-95 and FH-95 should not be confused.
On September 27, the Sudanese Army also announced that a Chinese-made FH-95 was shot down by air defense elements in North Darfur. In the incident in question, no statement was made that the UAV was shot down by AKINCI, which was used by the Sudanese Army. On the same day, it was announced that another enemy UAV was shot down in North Kordofan, but the platform type and engagement method of this incident were not disclosed.
This distinction prevents an inference that all of the total UAV losses in Sudan were caused by AKINCI. While available open source data reveals AKINCI's reported air-to-air engagements against CH-95 type targets, the air defense elements of the Sudanese Army continue their operations against different Chinese-made UAVs.
A new field experience for ROKETSAN ammunition
The use of munitions developed by ROKETSAN in AKINCI's operations in Sudan stands out as one of the reflections of Turkey's integration efforts between unmanned platforms and munitions on the field.
In particular, the use of EREN in the CH-95 engagement reported on September 20 set a remarkable example of the use of an ammunition designed against low-speed air targets in an air-to-air mission on an unmanned platform. The fact that the use of EREN in the last incident has not yet been confirmed requires that these two developments be evaluated separately.
On the other hand, the different missions that AKINCI has reportedly carried out in Sudan in recent months show that the platform is used not only against air targets, but also against Chinese-made FK-2000 air defense systems used by the RSF. Thus, AKINCI gains the appearance of a multi-role platform used in different mission categories such as reconnaissance-surveillance, precision attack, missions against air defense systems and air-air engagements in the Sudanese field.
The meaning of the latest development
The new CH-95 engagement, reported on September 27, is not a development that alone changes the entire picture regarding the use of AKINCI in Sudan. However, the fact that the same platform has repeatedly confronted similar Chinese-made UAVs in recent weeks shows that air battles in which unmanned systems are used against each other are no longer an isolated example, but have become one of the striking elements of the conflict in Sudan.
Especially when the air-to-air strike reported to have been carried out with EREN on September 20, the information that two CH-95s were shot down on the same day on September 24, and the latest development that a new CH-95 was shot down on September 27 are evaluated together, it can be seen that the use of AKINCI in this mission area has gained continuity.
