Secret Egyptian air base used to launch drones striking targets in Sudan

The New York Times reported on Feb. 1, 2026, that a covert airstrip at the East Oweinat desert project in Egypt has been used for at least six months to base advanced military drones that have carried out strikes inside Sudan, primarily against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (R.S.F.), according to satellite images, flight records, videos and interviews.

The reporting says satellite imagery and other records show expanded runways, hangars and drone systems at the site, and that Turkish Akinci drones began operating from the airfield after cargo flights in mid‑2025. Egypt’s foreign ministry and foreign press center, and Sudan’s military, did not respond to questions for the article.

The article places the activity in the wider foreign role in Sudan’s civil war: the United Arab Emirates is said to supply Chinese CH‑95 drones to the R.S.F., while Saudi Arabia and Qatar back the Sudanese army, which has also acquired weapons from Turkey, Iran and Russia. The Times reports that the drone strikes have hit fighters and supply convoys but also mosques, hospitals and power plants, and that the conflict has displaced some 12 million people; a widely reported kindergarten strike attributed to the R.S.F.

killed 114 people, 63 of them children, the World Health Organization said.

east oweinat airstrip, egypt covert drone base, turkish akinci drones, rapid support forces, chinese ch-95 drones, united arab emirates, baykar turkish drones, fall of el fasher, kindergarten strike sudan, 12 million displaced, chinese drone-jamming systems, r.s.f. supply convoys