Drones as weapons: Africa needs better data to anticipate risk
In October this year, Africa’s air force chiefs of staff and air force industry representatives gathered in Senegal. They agreed the continent urgently needed...
Joint Standing Committee on Defence gets up close and personal with Milkor 380 UAV
Since its maiden flight in September, the Milkor 380 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has been attracting significant amounts of interest from all quarters, and...
NASA’s BioSCape campaign successfully maps biodiversity in Western Cape
NASA's ambitious biodiversity field campaign, BioSCape, conducted over four intensive weeks using modified Gulfstream III and Gulfstream V business jets from Cape Town, has...
Embraer to demonstrate C-390 to the SAAF
Brazilian aerospace company Embraer will later this month demonstrate its C-390 Millenium transport aircraft to the South African Air Force (SAAF).
The aircraft will be...
SAAF Chief heads SADC Aviation Committee
SA Air Force (SAAF) Chief Lieutenant General Wiseman Mbambo now chairs the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Standing Aviation Committee (SAC).
His chairmanship of the...
Paramount and AAL moving forward with composite rotor blade production
Paramount and its United Arab Emirates-based partner AAL Group have successfully completed initial testing of their composite helicopter blades for Mi-type helicopters.
AAL’s team, in...
Boeing begins Moroccan Apache production ahead of 2024 deliveries
Boeing has started manufacturing the first of 24 AH-64E Apache helicopters for Morocco at its Mesa, Arizona, facility, ahead of deliveries to the North...
Enstrom Helicopter hosts training for Zambian mechanics
Enstrom Helicopter Corporation has hosted mechanics from Zambia for a week of training on how to maintain the Enstrom 480B helicopters they will soon...
Asymmetric warfare in Africa’s hot spots favours smaller COIN aircraft over fighter jets
Modern fighter jets are marvels of power and complexity. They are also stunningly expensive. The current generation of fighter jets start at about $100...
Cabinet nod of approval for Milkor 380 UAV
Acknowledgement of achievements in the South African defence industry (SADI) are few and far between so the pat on the back from the latest...
First Nigerian T-129 helicopters delivered
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has taken delivery of the first two of six T-129 ATAK helicopters from Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), with the...
Most SAAF aircraft maintenance contracts only partially funded
State defence materiel agency Armscor has maintenance contracts in place for most South African Air Force (SAAF) aircraft, but most of these are only...
Armscor details SAAF C-130BZ Hercules upgrade progress
Marshall Aerospace in the United Kingdom will complete upgrade work on the first South African Air Force (SAAF) C-130BZ Hercules transport at the end...
African countries are investing in air power, embracing cooperation
For most of post-independence history, air forces in Africa were not a priority. Expensive and difficult to maintain, air power was seen as a...
SAAF Museum OC inspects facilities
Recently appointed SA Air Force (SAAF) Museum Officer Commanding, Lieutenant Colonel Aobakwe Gaelejwe, has ventured across South Africa to inspect the state of Museum...
Second Africa Air Force Forum kicks off in Senegal
The second Africa Air Force Forum, hosted by the Senegalese Air Force, kicked off on Wednesday 25 October in Dakar, Senegal, bringing together Air...
African countries examine ways to meet the continent’s strategic airlift needs
As South Sudanese peacekeepers walked off a Kenya Air Force C-27J Spartan military transport aircraft in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), they...
IP for SAAF C-130BZ avionics held by UK company
With work – including addressing “immediate and urgent obsolescence issues” underway on SA Air Force (SAAF) C-130BZ Hercules (409) in England – the reply...
Incomar grows its fleet as its business expands
Aerospace and defence company Incomar is adding new aircraft to its fleet to further assist flight testing and development work, with business and trainer...
The dizzying possibilities of drones in Africa
Nigeria deploys drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), at border crossings to increase security along its porous frontier and to identify potential threats while...
SAAF in crisis as aircraft serviceability drops to less than 20%
The continued emasculation of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) was vividly brought to the fore by Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise...
SAAF Gripen engine support contract finally awarded
Armscor has placed a support contract with GKN Aerospace for the maintenance of the South African Air Force’s (SAAF’s) Gripen engines, meaning both engines...
NASA is coming to the Western Cape
The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is preparing to conduct a first-of-its-kind biodiversity field campaign in the Western Cape by sending two...
No maintenance contracts in place for multiple SAAF aircraft types
Armscor does not have maintenance contracts in place for three of the South African Air Force’s (SAAF’s) aircraft types, with challenges finding a C-47TP...
Senegal gearing up for second Africa Air Force Forum
The Senegalese Air Force is getting ready to host the second Africa Air Force Forum later this month, gathering Air Force Chiefs of Staff,...
SAAF assists Overberg communities following Cape floods
A South African Air Force (SAAF) BK 117 helicopter from 15 Squadron last month assisted flood-stricken communities in the Overberg region of the Western...
Nigerian Air Force takes delivery of final DA 62 special mission aircraft
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has taken delivery of all four DA 62 MPP special mission aircraft from Austria’s Diamond Aircraft.
The first aircraft was...
Two new helicopters for SAPS Air Wing
The South African Police Service (SAPS) Air Wing has taken delivery of another two H125 light utility helicopters from Airbus as it recapitalises its...
Milkor’s flagship UAV takes flight
Milkor has flown its Milkor 380 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for the first time, marking a giant milestone in the development of its flagship...
SAAF just beats austerity adjusted flying hour target
Implementation of austerity measures at the SA Air Force (SAAF) saw it pass – even if only slightly – a reduced flying hour target...
SAAF pilots training at the International Test Pilots School in Canada
The International Test Pilots School (ITPS) in Canada is training three South African Air Force (SAAF) pilots and an engineer, who joined the first...
Nigeria moves ahead with Cayuse Warrior acquisition
MD Helicopters is moving ahead with the production of 12 MD 530F Cayuse Warriors for the Nigerian Army, with deliveries from the end of...
Lesotho military aviators call on the SAAF
The SA Air Force College (SAAFCOL) in Thaba Tshwane this week hosted a Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) Air Wing delegation.
As with other foreign air...
Top level Chinese air force delegation at AFB Overberg
A call on Air Force Base (AFB) Overberg, home to the SA Air Force (SAAF) Test Flight and Development Centre (TFDC), was on the...
Turkey clinches Nigerian border security contract
In recent years, the Nigerian military has fostered relationships with Turkish defence companies, acquiring equipment ranging from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to offshore patrol...
Loitering munitions market predicted to grow massively
Global aerospace and defence company Paramount is putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and...
SAAF Chief and Chinese counterpart meet
Another indication of the strengthening military relationship between the People’s Republic of China and South Africa was evidenced by a high level visit to...
US donating helicopters to the Zambia Air Force
The United States has announced an $80 million grant to Zambia for the supply of four Bell 412EP helicopters to the Zambia Air Force...
Paramount’s Mwari racking up flying hours in Mozambique while weapons integration progresses
As the launch customer for the Mwari intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR) and strike aircraft, Mozambique has accumulated over 70 hours of flying on the...
Moroccan H135M deliveries begin
The Royal Moroccan Air Force has taken delivery of the first of its two H135M helicopters ordered from Airbus Helicopters, marking the beginning of...
SAAF Oryx pilot recalls ill-fated DRC flight
The rigours of operational deployments in hostile areas were illustrated with pathos by SA Air Force (SAAF) Oryx pilot Captain Mathew Allan when recounting...
Bell 412 helicopters support Somalia’s counter-insurgency efforts
The delivery of Bell 412 helicopters to Somalia's government has provided a critical boost to its counter-insurgency capabilities, marking a significant development in the...
Gabonese C295 arrives home
The lone Airbus C295 transport aircraft ordered by Gabon has arrived home, months after the contract was greenlit.
The aircraft (TR-KJF) was tracked leaving Spain...
SAAF to host a space symposium in 2024
Current SA Air Force (SAAF) Chief, Lieutenant General Wiseman Mbambo, used last week’s National Space Conference to expand on his service’s “readiness to engage...
SAAF’s Charlie Flight to the rescue
The lone SA Air Force (SAAF) presence in Eastern Cape – 15 Squadron’s Charlie Flight – showed its rescue capabilities when called on by...
SAAF headlines Children’s Flight 2023
A South African Air Force (SAAF) Hawk lead-in fighter-trainer was one of the highlights of the latest edition of The Children’s Flight, which was...
SAAF essay competition initiative welcomed
A SA Air Force (SAAF) Book Club initiative aimed at developing writing and communication skills by way of an essay competition saw a young...
SAAF celebrates 75 years of helicopter operations
This past Saturday, 26 August, saw the annual gathering of surviving members of the South African Air Force (SAAF) helicopter squadrons and associated support...
