In a smidgen under seven months Air Force Base (AFB) Waterkloof in Centurion will open its gates to the Aerospace Africa and Defence (AAD) exhibition, which has been around in its present form since 2000.
State-owned Armscor, which reports to Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise, hosts AAD 2024 said in an exclusive preview it is working to “putting together an exhibition that will contribute positively to the South African defence industry (SADI), exhibitors and all participants”.
“We are positioning SADI to use AAD2024 as a platform for both buyers and sellers to come together and conclude those crucial and mutually beneficial deals.
“Our South African defence budget might be dwindling but the global market presents an opportunity for local industries to take advantage of,” the Armscor preview reads in part adding the exhibition “provides local industries with an international platform to showcase and market their value to a carefully curated and accredited global player network”.
Armscor is working with key partners to put together a “memorable” AAD beneficial to all invited guests and delegations as well as aiming at “producing the required return on investment (ROI) envisaged by all participants”.
The Pretoria East headquartered defence and security acquisition agency has it “the AAD trade expo and air show provides a conducive environment for business-to-business linkages, as well as an ideal platform for engaging on international defence, aerospace and other related best practices”.
Geopolitical conflicts currently underway “galvanised” countries to relook and strengthen defence capabilities it notes.
Exhibition host duties are shared between AMD (the Aerospace, Maritime and Defence Industries Association of SA), Armscor, the Commercial Aviation Association of Southern Africa (CAASA) and the SA Air Force (SAAF).
AAD this year runs from 18 to 22 September with the weekend set aside, as has become standard operating practice (SOP), for an air show.
