South African Air Force (SAAF) Oryx crash-lands on highway

A South African Air Force (SAAF) Oryx helicopter crash-landed along the N1 highway near the Huguenot Tunnel on Dec. 10.

Insanely Low Pass by South African Attack Helicopter

Joint exercise between the Brazil - BNS AMAZONAS and South African SAS SPIOENKOP in the Indian Ocean

http://www.navy.mil.za/archive/1601/160126_IBSAMAR_2016/160311_IBSAMAR_2016_sitrep%2021/article.htm

South Africa night air force capability demo

#SouthAfrica night air force capability demo. #SAAF Video: SA Defence News pic.twitter.com/8l3wmkoxXt

— Gripen News (@GripenNews) February 22, 2016

Boeing has rolled out first AH-64E for South Korea

The latest-version AH-64 Apache attack helicopters destined for South Korea have been unveiled months before the start of deliveries, the country's arms procurement agency said Tuesday.

Boeing held a rollout ceremony for the AH-64E Apache Guardian in Mesa, Arizona, on Monday (local time), attended by representatives from South Korea's Army and the Defense Acquisition Procurement Administration (DAPA).

The choppers will be first delivered to the U.S. Army for test flights and transferred to South Korea beginning in the first half of next year, according to DAPA officials.

The DAPA signed a US$1.6 billion contract with the U.S. in a Foreign Military Sales program in 2013 to buy 36 AH-64Es, an upgraded model of the AH-64D Longbow.

The AH-64E is a heavily armed helicopter featuring more powerful, fuel-efficient engines and enhanced rotor blade technology, as well as improved aircraft handling, performance and agility at higher altitudes.

It is also equipped with improved systems for pilots' situational awareness and strikes on smaller targets.

"The Apache Guardian will greatly contribute to the strengthening of our military's combat capability by replacing aging helicopters currently in operation," said Baek Yoon-hyeong, head of the DAPA's aviation business team.

South Africa sending pilots to Russia for training

The financially strapped SA Air Force (SAAF) is further extending its foreign training commitments with Russia being the latest addition.
A report has it that about 10 pilots from 2 Squadron at AFB Makhado have been selected for further training in Russia. This is a direct outflow of a co-operation agreement signed between the defence ministers of the two countries, Afrikaans weekly Rapport said.

Four pilots are already undergoing training in Cuba and according to SA National Defence Force Chief General Solly Shoke, agreements have also been entered into with the United States and the United Kingdom on various aspects of military training.At the same time the paper reports the SAAF has experienced more resignations from the ranks of its jet pilots.

“Four of only the handful of jet fighter pilots in the SAAF have resigned leaving the force with three times as many Gripens as qualified pilots for them,” the paper said.Making matters worse is that two test pilots based at AFB Overberg, home of the Test Flight and Development Centre (TFDC), have not had their contracts renewed.

Against this background it is not surprising the original number of 18 pilots supposed to go to Russia was cut. Another reason for sending fewer jet pilots is cost. South Africa had to pay for travel and living expenses while Russia is carrying the cost of training.

The majority of those going to Russia are qualified pilots but are short of flying hours to build their experience base. The lack of flying hours, also a result of a tight budget, has contributed in no small measure to this.

Pilots at AFB Makhado told the paper their colleagues who resigned had done so because they couldn’t fly. They have apparently joined airlines or companies operating in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and China.

It appears the group bound for Russia are not going to have an easy time of it. A SAAF officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Russians had made it clear no time would be wasted on pilots who cannot fly properly.

Starstreak air defense missile system now included in South African Army assets

South African Army Chief, Lieutenant General Vusi Masondo, yesterday officially took the Starstreak ground-based air defence missile system into the landward forces inventory. The handover took place at 10th Anti-Aircraft Regiment headquarters at Diskobolos, Kimberley as is part of the Army’s drive to rejuvenate its hardware, alluded to by Masondo last month when he met the media. 

Advanced High Performance Reconnaissance light Aircraft (AHRLAC)

Paramount Group, Africa’s largest privately-owned defence and aerospace company, reached a momentous occasion today with the first public flight of its Advanced High-Performance Reconnaissance Light Aircraft (AHRLAC), at the Wonderboom Airport in Pretoria. AHRLAC is the first military fixed wing aircraft to be fully designed, tested and developed in Africa.

South Africa, Malaysia Ink Radar and Sensor Deal

Scientists from South Africa and Malaysia will collaborate on the research and development (R&D) of advanced radar and sensor technologies, and electronic and network-centric warfare systems, over 10 years starting in 2016.The agreement was struck during the Defence Services Asia show in Kuala Lumpur last month. The South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the National Defence University of Malaysia (NDUM) signed a memorandum of agreement that paves the way for the establishment in Malaysia of a joint Centre of Excellence for Advanced Defence Technologies, specializing in radar and sensor technologies.

The signing of the agreement represents a deepening of bilateral defense business and diplomatic relations between South Africa and Malaysia.This is the second major deal between the two countries this year; it follows a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by Denel Aerostructures and Strand Aerospace Malaysia to pave the way for collaboration in defense aerospace systems.Speaking after the signing ceremony in Malaysia, NDUM’s vice chancellor, Gen. Tan Sri Dato Seri Panglima Haji Zulkifli bin Haji Zainal Abidin, said collaborating with the South African institution will help Malaysia develop the capacity to produce defense gear and meet its own demand for modern electronic warfare systems.

“This collaboration will support national capability development in Malaysia in the areas of radar and sensors, electronic warfare and network-centric warfare through the platform of NDUM,” Tan said.“NDUM is honored to work with the CSIR, which is internationally recognized as a research-and-development organization with expertise in the fields of defense and security,” he said. “We are confident that this strategic partnership will lead to other spinoffs in the defense and security services sector.”Laurens Cloete, CSIR’s executive director, said the institutions will collaborate on establishing new capabilities in the design and development of advanced defense subsystems and systems while undertaking challenging projects expected to deliver results for stakeholders in both countries.

“The CSIR has a long track record in radar and optronic sensor and electronic warfare,” Cloete said. “We want it to be the seed around which a critical mass of R&D capability and high-level skills will be built. International collaboration such as this demonstrates South African capability, and benefits the local R&D community by ensuring we remain competitive on the international stage.”He said the center will initiate and perform flagship technology demonstrator programs. It also aims to attract, develop and retain R&D professionals in the field of advanced applications-oriented defense engineering.

Research into radar and sensor technology will focus on imaging and related technologies, such as target identification; advanced search and track; beam steering and active-phased array research; synthetic aperture radars; persistent wide-area surveillance on land, sea and air targets; and software modeling and simulation.According to South African media reports, the key priority areas in advanced electronic warfare systems are electronic self-protection; static or dynamic target signature measurement; electronic support measures; and instrumentation for electronic warfare ranges for measurement and evaluation.

The signing of the Denel-Strand MoU marked the beginning of offset arrangements for the deal, under which Denel Land Systems is contracted to supply turrets for Malaysia’s armored infantry fighting vehicles.The Malaysia tie-up is the second international deal for CSIR after the November signing of a licensing agreement for the rollout of its laser-cladding technology with US-based FW Gartner Thermal Spraying.

CSIR Senior Commercialization Manager Brian Mphahlele said the US deal offers a unique opportunity for the introduction of a South African technology with significant industrial potential in the Americas and Australia.


http://www.defensenews.com/article/20140508/DEFREG04/305080028/South-Africa-Malaysia-Ink-Radar-Sensor-Deal

South African Rooivalk attack helo makes combat debut in DRC

The Denel Rooivalk attack helicopter made its combat debut on 4 November, while conducting armed overwatch and close air support flights of UN personnel in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South African media has reported.

Two South African Air Force (SAAF) Rooivalks fired multiple 70 mm rocket salvos against M23 rebel bunkers close to the Rwandan border, while operating on behalf of the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) and its Force Intervention Brigade (FIB), according to African Defence Review .
Another South African news outlet, defenceWeb , reported that the Rooivalks had conducted their offensive operations against M23 positions in partnership with a pair of Mil Mi-24/35 'Hind' helicopters of the FIB. The report was not clear on who was operating these Hinds, but India and Ukraine are known to have contributed such helicopters to MONUSCO.

According to the South African media reports, the Roovivalks destroyed one rebel 14.5 mm anti-aircraft gun and dispersed the M23 forces in the area.

The SAAF deployed three Rooivalk helicopters to the DRC in late October, clearing them to begin operations on the day that this first contact took place.

South Africa fields 11 Rooivalk helicopters in all, operated by 16 Squadron based at Air Force Base Bloemspruit near Bloemfontein. It has previously declined to offer them for UN peacekeeping efforts in Africa because they were not fully operational. However, this changed in March when the fleet was brought up to a common Block 1F combat capable standard.
Established in November 1999 to monitor and keep the peace in the DRC, MONUSCO currently comprises some 20,688 military and police personnel from 56 countries. According to UN figures, 61 MONUSCO personnel have been killed since the mission began.