USAF F-16s from Italy are quietly deployed to Djibouti

The U.S. Air Force has quietly deployed a number of KC-135s and F-16s to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, this was at the request of Africa Command.
U.S. Africa Command said it was a “precautionary measure in order to protect Americans and American interests in South Sudan if required.”
stripes

RAF C-130J deployed to South Sudan For Humanitarian Effort

The Royal Air Force says that its Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules strategic transport has been deployed to northeastern Africa to deliver supplies to a remote region under the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) humanitarian relief effort.
The C-130J will deliver vital supplies to the remote city of Malakal.
The C-130 is desperately needed both to help the UN’s transport infrastructure, which is in great demand, and to provide critical supplies to a country in the grip of a humanitarian crisis.
The C-130 is expected to be utilised until mid-April.
RAF has having 24 C-130Js in its current inventory.
flightglobal

Marines positioned to respond to South Sudan if needed

About 150 Marines were dispatched to the Horn of Africa from Spain on Monday to be positioned to provide security or evacuate Americans from violence-racked South Sudan.
The move follows an incident Saturday in which three aircraft were hit by ground fire as they attempted to rescue Americans.
The aircraft turned back, but another effort Sunday was successful in evacuating Americans from Bor in South Sudan.
The Marines arrived in Djibouti from their base in Moron, Spain. They are from a force of more than 500 Marines established this year to more quickly respond to crises in Africa. The special purpose "air-ground task force" is trained to provide security for U.S. property and evacuate Americans when needed. They are capable of responding to a crisis within six hours of notification.
Security in South Sudan has been deteriorating for the past week and hundreds of Americans and other foreigners have been evacuated in recent days, the State Department has said. The country plunged into chaos after an attempted coup triggered fighting between rival ethnic groups.
usatoday

Sudan Adds Precision Bomber Su-24s to Arsenal

DigitalGlobe imagery indicates that Sudan has acquired at least three Su- 24 (“Fencer”) supersonic precision bomber aircraft in recent months. The operational range of the Fencer is a little more than 600 kilometers, which would allow targeted air strikes from their current position in Wadi Seidna military air base into parts of Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states.
satsentinel

Russia agrees to sell attack helicopters to Sudan and is negotiating the sale of 18 Su-30 fighters

Sudan and Russia sealed two agreements since 2011 for the sale of two dozen Mi-24 attack helicopters and 14 MI-8 transport helicopters.
The first batch of the shipment was delivered in 2012 in accordance with a contract between two countries a year earlier and the second one was scheduled for delivery this year per a second agreement.
Conditions were attached by Russia to the sale including not using it in Sudan’s restive region of Darfur per United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions banning military flights there.
Russia has already informed the UN Sanctions Committee about the pending sale in a letter sent last February.
In a related issue, a source close to Russia’s agency for defense sales known as Rosoboronexport, said that Sudan is also negotiating the purchase of 18 former Indian Su-30K fighters that are stored in an aircraft repair plant in Belarus.
sudantribune

U.N. urged to consider drones, gunships for South Sudan mission

The United Nations should consider deploying surveillance drones and helicopter gunships in South Sudan because peacekeepers are struggling to protect civilians from violence and rights abuses.
uk.reuters