Tag: SANDF
Two soldiers dead in murder-suicide
In what the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has described as an “unfortunate incident,” an altercation involving soldiers saw one fatally stab another...
SAS Isandlwana refit due for completion next year; submarine refit a...
The refit of the South African Navy’s Valour class frigate SAS Isandlwana is due for completion in March next year, at a cost of...
Fifth group of SANDF soldiers returns from SAMIDRC mission
A fifth group of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers has returned from the now terminated Southern African Development Community Mission in the...
Feature: Budget constraints force SANDF to scale back ambitions
As South Africa’s security environment becomes increasingly complex and uncertain, the Department of Defence (DoD) finds itself on the defensive, not from external threats,...
Armscor extends SA Army APC bid validity
The long-delayed search for new armoured personnel carriers (APCs) for the South African Army continues, with bid validity being extended to the end of...
SAAF belatedly sends Oryx to Eastern Cape for flood relief
A shortage of qualified flight engineers, pilots and aircraft has meant that the South African Air Force (SAAF) belatedly managed to send only a...
Third group of SANDF troops returns from DRC
A second and third batch of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers arrived at Air Force Base Waterkloof in Pretoria on Sunday and...
First batch of South African SAMIDRC troops return home
A 249-strong contingent of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers serving with the now-terminated Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic...
Defence readiness under fire as MPs grill Armscor over failing Navy...
Members of Parliament from across the political spectrum on Friday interrogated Armscor and the Department of Defence (DoD) over delays, underfunding, and systemic risks...
Departmental “blame game” leaves uniformed SANDF personnel in “crumbling facilities”
South Africa’s military infrastructure is on the verge of total collapse, a National Assembly (NA) Parliamentarian said in the wake of a joint meeting...
Niehaus question on SANDF “Journey to Greatness” answered – vaguely
According to Defence and Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga, what has been christened the “Journey to Greatness” of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF)...
SANDF border patrols in June expose ongoing illicit activities
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has intensified patrols along sensitive sections of the border with Mozambique and Eswatini, uncovering a series of...
First SANDF troops from SAMIDRC to return home on Friday
A sense of relief will most likely fill Bloemfontein on Friday 13 June as the first group of South African National Defence Force (SANDF)...
Secrecy around SAS Manthatisi board of inquiry report questioned
Nineteen months after the SA Navy (SAN) lost three submariners in a bad weather incident off Kommetjie in the Western Cape, the Board of...
Armed Forces and SAAF Prestige days will be back
Events and deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) earlier this year contributed in no small measure to the postponement of two major...
Motshekga ‘in awe’ of South African defence industry
South Africa’s Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Angie Motshekga, has expressed her strong admiration for the South African defence industry (SADI), calling it...
SANDF’s Cuban drug acquisition investigation back on track
Three years after a then opposition Member of Parliament (MP) took it on himself to initiate a criminal case in connection with a corrupt...
Armscor/SA Navy oversight briefing runs aground as Motshekga fails to pitch
Simon’s Town, home to the premier base of the SA Navy (SAN) and its fleet headquarters as well as the Armscor dockyard, was the...
First SANSI cadet cohort graduates at Engineer Formation base
The fruits of the latest addition to the commitments given to the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) – the SA National Service Institute (SANSI)...
15 Squadron’s Charlie Flight sets the standard for SAAF rotorcraft display...
A show stopper at the South African Presidential inauguration last June was a breathtaking display by two BK117 helicopters operated by 15 Squadron’s Charlie...
Soldiers contribute to keeping SA’s lights on
The involvement of South African soldiers in safeguarding infrastructure vital to the functioning of the country’s electricity generation, supply and distribution network is ongoing...
Illegal occupation of SANDF bases “a growing crisis” – Parliamentarian
Support for the senior officer responsible for, among others, defence bases and facilities in South Africa, comes from a Democratic Alliance (DA) parliamentarian who...
Pretoria reaffirms peacekeeping commitment amid SAMIDRC fallout
South Africa’s participation in the now-defunct Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (SAMIDRC) was once lauded as an...
Feature: SANDF in crisis – rethinking SA’s military policy through the...
South Africa’s defence establishment is staring down a policy and funding crisis decades in the making. At a recent session of the Joint Standing...
Motshekga “commits” to secure vandalised Northern Cape properties
In the wake of an oversight visit to a Postmasburg, Northern Cape, suburb, a local councillor “received a commitment” from Defence and Military Veterans...
Colder weather not putting the brakes on contraband smugglers or soldiers...
Soldiers deployed on border protection as per the Operation Corona standing tasking were in action along five of South Africa’s land borders in May...
Informal settlements can be a problem for SANDF, defence committee hears
When a country’s military brings squatters, in the broadest sense of the word, to the attention of Parliament by way of a presentation to...
SONAs cost SANDF R60 million over the past five years
The largest “consumer” – as it were – of South Africa’s defence budget when it comes to military pomp and ceremony is the annual...
Armscor gets nearly R3 billion to support the SANDF
Defence materiel division Armscor falls under the Department of Defence (DoD) and as such receives about 5% of the DoD budget. It received an...
DoD software scandal should be added to Mapisa-Nqakula charge sheet –...
After the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) set aside a R257 million software contract between the Department of Defence (DoD) and SoftwareOne due to procurement...
Fallen peacekeepers deaths not in vain – Maphwanya
The 29th of May marked the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) commemorated the occasion with an...
SANDF Corporal murdered in cold blood in Limpopo
A 54-year-old Corporal of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was found killed just hours before reporting for duty on Thursday 29 May...
Old but still working – SAAF responds to claims of radar...
South African Air Force (SAAF) “radar sensor systems” in use for over 35 years are “still serviceable in spite of long lead times on...
SIU sets aside dodgy R257 million Department of Defence software contract
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has obtained an order from its Special Tribunal to set aside a software contract awarded by the Department of...
Analysis: Underfunding, procurement challenges, and the future of South African defence
South Africa’s defence sector is in a state of crisis, battling with severe budget constraints, inefficient resource allocation, and a struggling defence industry. The...
SA to mark International Peacekeeping Day at De Brug
Tomorrow (29 May) is the International Day of United Nations (UN) Peacekeepers. South Africa will join the international community at the De Brug Mobilisation...
Japan and South Africa working towards stronger co-operation amid growing regional...
The Republic of South Africa and Japan reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral defence ties during a high-level meeting between State Minister of Defence...
“Stalled” 1 Mil RAMP to be under regular Parliamentary scrutiny
“Paralysis” and “unending” are two words used by Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Defence (JSCD) to describe “the stalled maintenance and repair project (RAMP)”...
SA DoD Human Resources taken to task over out-of-country allowances
There are, according to Sandu (SA National Defence Union), still unanswered questions around the out-of-country allowances soldiers and other military personnel detached to continental...
SA Department of Defence not off the hook for COVID-19 acquisitions
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa used the Government Gazette to authorise a further investigation into Department of Defence (DoD) purchases of personal protective equipment...
South African seas and skies “vulnerable”
Gaps in the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) radar net are reportedly the newest addition to the “broken, damaged or unusable” list of equipment...
SANDF budget increases by R1.2 billion for SAMIDRC withdrawal
The re-tabled 2025 budget vote, delivered by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on Wednesday 21 May, has seen the Department of Defence (DoD) allocated an...
Finance Minister outlines new defence spending for DRC troop withdrawal
The Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, has announced that government is reconfiguring funding for the troop deployment to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)...
Prosecutions in the pipeline for alleged SAASIC horse abuse
Seven years of frustration, mostly resulting from evasive action by SA Army Specialist Infantry Capability (SAASIC) officers, appears to be nearly over with the...
SA/US military co-operation steady despite Trump-era executive orders
There is still a credit side to the South Africa/United States (US) military co-operation agreement, managed through a bilateral defence committee, in the wake...
Defence Minister’s absence delays critical 1 Military Hospital oversight meeting
The absence of the Defence and Military Veterans Minister from a recent Joint Standing Committee on Defence (JSCD) with the sorry plight of 1...
Two hundred thousand plus apply for five thousand MSDS slots
The proverbial jury is and probably will remain out on whether patriotism or a need for gainful employment drives the massive number of applications...
Decisive action needed to save the SANDF from collapse – EFF
Saving the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) from collapse requires bold, decisive action, including new leadership, a doubling of the defence budget, and...
Questions about DRC allowances and apparent ration shortage as SADC mission...
South Africa’s largest military labour organisation and two political parties, one currently committed to the government of national unity (GNU), are up in arms...
Procure to export: A new mindset for South Africa’s defence industry
The South African government wants to drive growth and job creation. The local defence industry has existing capabilities that can be exploited to assist....
