Also recorded as: Pakistan (arms package; Shahpar drones); Pakistan Ordnance Factories; Global Industrial & Defence Solutions (GIDS); National Defence Complex; Pakistan (second-pass update: package status)
Negotiated a $1.5bn arms package for the SAF (reported Jan 2026), placed on hold in April 2026 after Saudi objection; Mohafiz armoured vehicles reportedly delivered Aug 2026; Pakistani-origin Shahpar drones and Turkish-Pakistani YIHA-III loitering munitions reported in SAF service.
Their response
Pakistan's military and defence ministry did not respond to Reuters (Jan 2026). SAF spokesman did not respond. The Defense Post: neither Sudanese nor Pakistani authorities released terms of the vehicle sale.
'لم يصدر حتى الآن أي تعليق رسمي من الحكومتَين الباكستانية أو السودانية'. Saudi government communications centre and SAF did not respond to Reuters on the suspension (arabi21).
No Pakistani or Sudanese official confirmation found. Pakistan says the August 2026 Mecca defence agreement is purely defensive.
Records
4
Each record carries its own grade. A grade describes the source for that record, not the actor.
BGrade B: Corroborated
Pakistan
Jan 2026 - Sep 2026
Negotiated a $1.5bn arms package for the SAF (reported Jan 2026), placed on hold in April 2026 after Saudi objection; Mohafiz armoured vehicles reportedly delivered Aug 2026; Pakistani-origin Shahpar drones and Turkish-Pakistani YIHA-III loitering munitions reported in SAF service.
Response
Pakistan's military and defence ministry did not respond to Reuters (Jan 2026). SAF spokesman did not respond. The Defense Post: neither Sudanese nor Pakistani authorities released terms of the vehicle sale.
Reuters-sourced reporting (Jan 2026): Pakistan in final stages of a ~$1.5bn deal incl. ~10 K-8 aircraft and 200+ drones. Later reporting (arabi21) says Pakistan suspended the deal after Saudi Arabia declined to finance it. Sudan Tribune (24 Sep 2026), citing an unnamed military source, says SAF has nonetheless received more than 40 Pakistani Shahpar drones since July 2026. These accounts conflict and need reconciling.
Response
'لم يصدر حتى الآن أي تعليق رسمي من الحكومتَين الباكستانية أو السودانية'. Saudi government communications centre and SAF did not respond to Reuters on the suspension (arabi21).
Status as of 3 Oct 2026: the USD 1.5bn package was reported near-final (Reuters, Jan 2026) and on hold (Reuters, Apr 2026; first pass). Sudan Tribune then reported partial deliveries: about 100 Mohafiz armoured vehicles in July 2026 and Shahpar-series drones "through separate deals", rising to "more than 40" Shahpar drones since July 2026.
Why this grade
C (deliveries: one outlet, unnamed Sudanese military sources); B for Shahpar type being in SAF service (Sudan Tribune plus Ayin OSINT review)
Response
No Pakistani or Sudanese official confirmation found. Pakistan says the August 2026 Mecca defence agreement is purely defensive.
Sanctions
None
›Research notes
CORROBORATION TEST for '40+ Shahpar since July 2026': NOT corroborated. The figure rests on Sudan Tribune's own military sources (one army source for the supplier, 'military sources' for the count). Ayin's OSINT review (23 Sep 2026) independently lists a Shahpar UAV in SAF use with Port Sudan as reported supply route, which supports presence of the type but not the number or dates. The UN FFM does not mention Shahpar. Comtrade has no Pakistan-reported arms export to Sudan. A November 2025 Arabic item already claimed '40 Shahpar-2' under an October 2025 deal, without attribution - the number may be recycled. Maker discrepancy: Sudan Tribune attributes Mohafiz to Pakistan Ordnance Factories; the first pass lists Heavy Industries Taxila. Whether deliveries mean the April 2026 hold was lifted is not established; the Le Monde-derived claim that Riyadh is financing rests on unverified relays.
Status at 3 October 2026: package still reported on hold; Shahpar deliveries remain single-outlet
April - October 2026
Nothing published since April 2026 reports the USD 1.5 billion package as signed or revived. Reuters (20-21 April 2026), citing two Pakistani security sources and one diplomatic source, said Pakistan put the sale on hold after Saudi Arabia withdrew financing following a March 2026 meeting with Sudan's army leaders in Riyadh; one source said Riyadh 'signalled that Pakistan should terminate the deal'. The later delivery claims all originate with Sudan Tribune: about 100 Mohafiz vehicles in July 2026 and Shahpar drones 'through separate deals' (6-8 August, two Sudanese officers), then 'more than 40' Shahpar drones since July 2026 (24 September). In that last report the army source 'declined to identify the Asian supplier nation'; the attribution to Pakistan is the newspaper's. No Pakistani, Sudanese, Saudi or Qatari official has confirmed any delivery, no wreckage or imagery of a Shahpar in Sudan has been published, and the UN Fact-Finding Mission does not mention the type. Security Council Report notes Pakistan was among the Council members opposing a wider arms embargo in September 2026.
Response
The Saudi government media office, Sudan's armed forces, Pakistan's military and air force did not respond to Reuters. No official comment on the Sudan Tribune reports was found.
›Research notes
Two further searches in this pass found only relays of Sudan Tribune (Capital Ethiopia, RANE). The claim stays grade C; the figure of 40 should be attributed to Sudan Tribune by name. Sources marked summary_only were read through an automated page summary; quotations from them should be checked against the page before publication.
Correction: The Arabic thread's Sudan Tribune item (24 Sep 2026) that "more than 40 Shahpar drones" were delivered since July 2026 conflicts with this and is single-source: keep at C/D.
Relationships
3
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