Red Sea Gambit — Sudan Offers Russia Strategic Naval Base for Military Aid
London, UK – December 2, 2025
Red Sea Gambit: Sudan Offers Russia Strategic Naval Base for Military Aid
The volatile dynamics of the Horn of Africa and the pivotal waterways of the Red Sea have been thrown into stark relief following an exclusive report that Sudan’s military government has formally proposed a sweeping, 25-year naval base agreement to Russia.
The offer, which grants Moscow its first permanent military foothold in Africa overlooking the world’s most critical trade chokepoint, represents a strategic pivot by Khartoum to secure vital military support as it wages a fierce civil war against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The geopolitical implications are profound, immediately sparking alarm among Western and regional powers who view a new Russian presence as a destabilizing factor in the highly militarized Red Sea corridor.
A Quarter-Century Strategic Pact
The proposal, which Sudanese officials reportedly presented to Russian counterparts in October, aims to cement a long-term strategic partnership.
The core of the deal revolves around the establishment of a naval logistics support point, likely to be situated at Port Sudan or another facility along the Red Sea coast.
Headline Points of the Proposed Deal:
Duration:
A long-term 25-year cooperation agreement, potentially with automatic extensions.
Personnel:
Permission for Russia to station up to 300 military service personnel.
Vessels:
Authorisation to simultaneously dock as many as four warships, crucially including vessels that are nuclear-powered.
The Swap:
The deal is a direct exchange—Sudan cedes long-term use of its territory for a Russian base and, in return, expects advanced Russian weaponry, particularly antiaircraft systems, and other military hardware at preferential prices to aid its war effort.
Resource Access:
The proposed package is also understood to include permits for Russia to pursue mining concessions in Sudan, one of Africa’s largest gold producers, linking military strategy with economic interests.
The location is no accident. A base in Port Sudan would grant the Russian Navy unparalleled logistical advantages near the Suez Canal, a strait through which roughly 12% of global trade passes.
This strategic perch would enable Russia to project power more persistently into the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean, reducing its reliance on distant replenishment and significantly enhancing its global operational reach.
Khartoum’s Desperate Calculation:
Jets for a Base
For Sudan’s ruling military council, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, this is a transactional move driven by acute military necessity.
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have been locked in a devastating conflict with the RSF since April 2023.
With its air force depleted and facing a well-equipped, if unconventional, adversary, the SAF desperately needs modern, high-performance combat aircraft.
Recent reports suggest that parallel negotiations are underway for Sudan to acquire advanced Russian fighter jets, such as the Su-30 or Su-35.
By offering the Red Sea base—a long-desired strategic asset for the Kremlin—Khartoum is seeking to leverage its geopolitical position to secure the military edge necessary to turn the tide of the civil war.
The gold concessions further sweeten the deal, providing Russia with a profitable resource stream that can help circumvent international sanctions.
A Geopolitical Earthquake
News of the impending deal has triggered immediate and palpable concern in Western capitals, particularly Washington, D.C., and among regional allies.
Western Alarm:
The United States has previously warned of “serious consequences,” including sanctions, for any country proceeding with the Russian naval base plans. A senior US official stressed that such a base could “give Russia the ability to act with impunity” in a critical maritime zone.
# Regional Militarization:
The Red Sea is already one of the world’s most militarized regions, hosting naval facilities for the US, China, France, Italy, and others.
A Russian foothold is expected to intensify the militarization of the Red Sea and could lead to heightened tensions, increasing the risk of naval near-collisions or other incidents in the congested international waters.
# Strategic Corridor:
The base would solidify a potential “Red Sea–Levant strategic corridor” for Russia, linking its new African asset with its long-term naval base in Tartus, Syria.
This extension of Russian military power into the Indo-Mediterranean region is viewed as a direct challenge to the influence of NATO and Western-aligned nations.
The agreement—though not yet ratified—re-endorses a concept initially agreed upon in 2020 before being stalled by political turbulence and the outbreak of the civil war. Its revival demonstrates how Sudan’s internal conflict has been woven into a broader geopolitical contest, forcing the struggling nation to seek external patrons for survival, regardless of the potential long-term cost to regional stability and its own sovereignty.
The deal solidifies the narrative that in exchange for life-saving military hardware, Sudan is offering Russia a significant and enduring strategic foothold on the African continent.
