In 1958, the Sudanese Air Force's transport wing acquired its first aircraft, a single Hunting President.

The SAF gained its first combat aircraft when 12 Jet Provosts with a close air support capability were delivered in 1962.

[3] The air force flies a mixture of transport planes, fighter jets and helicopters which are mainly sourced from the Soviet Union/Russia and China.

[2] In mid-2011, members of the UN Panel of Experts on the Sudan documented the following aircraft in Darfur which potentially indicated violations of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1556: In August 2013, pictures showed Su-24's in Sudanese colors, reporting that the aircraft were among the ex Belarusian Air Force Su-24's retired in 2012.

[10][11][12][13] Previous notable aircraft operated were the BAC Jet Provost T55, Douglas C-47,[24]Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II, BAC 167 Strikemaster Mk.90, Shaanxi Y-8, Antonov An-2, Fokker F27 Friendship, Pilatus PC-6 Porter, Shenyang J-2, MBB Bo 105CB, Mil Mi-4, and the Agusta-Bell 212 helicopter.