13 October 2015 by defenceWeb

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.

22 July 2015 by Dean Wingrin

No-one was injured when a South African Air Force (SAAF) Oryx helicopter suffered damaged to its' nose on Saturday July 18 while operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Unconfirmed reports state the helicopter, serial 1209 (UNO 827), was taxiing on the ground at Goma airport in the eastern DRC at 14h45 when the nose wheel hit a 5cm raised section of a resurfaced taxiway area. This caused the nose wheel to collapse, leaving the helicopter nose down on the apron.

The SAAF operates a number of Oryx medium-transport helicopters as part of an SANDF deployment in the DRC. South African elements are part of both the MONUSCO peacekeeping mission and the UN FIB (Force Intervention Brigade).

In May this year, another SAAF Oryx flying in the DRC was hit by small arms fire when flying the MONUSCO Force Commander on a routine visit to the Bunia area of operations when several shots from a small calibre weapon were fired at it from unidentified gunmen on the ground. One of the projectiles penetrated an internal fuel tank, causing a fuel leak. The aircraft commander took evasive action, flew out of the danger zone and diverted safely to Beni Mavivi Airport.

Picture via the Unofficial SAAF website

Friday, January 30, is Air Force Day and the South African Air Force (SAAF) will use AFB Waterkloof in Centurion to mark the start of its 95 years of existence, making it one of the world’s oldest independent air forces.

The annual Air Force Day parade is held on the Friday closest to February 1, acknowledged as the day when what is now the SAAF came into being in 1920. That was the date when Colonel Pierre van Ryneveld was appointed Director: Air Services with instructions to establish an air force for the then Union of South Africa.

The following year saw a site at Zwartkop (just east of what is now Thaba Tshwane and was then Roberts Heights before becoming Voortrekkerhoogte) selected as the fledgling force’s first aerodrome. AFB Zwartkop is today still a working base and is home to 17 Squadron and the SAAF Museum.

Brigadier General Marthie Visser said the final programme for SAAF 95 was still being worked on as far as format and the sequence of events was concerned. She was, however, hopeful a special SAAF 95 logo would be unveiled during the Air Force Day parade.

The closing date for 95th anniversary logo submissions is January 21 which leaves the judging panel only seven working days to decide on a winner.

No details of the January 30 parade have yet been made public but it is customary for the airborne arm of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) to use the event to showcase as many of the aircraft it has in service as possible. In past years Gripen and Hawk jets have been the highlight of the flypast with Oryx, Agusta and Rooivalk helicopters taking part as well as transport aircraft ranging from the C-130BZ down to the Cessna 208 Caravan.

Traditionally the parade provides an opportunity for the Chief of the Air Force, Lieutenant General Zakes Msimang, to give an overview of what the SAAF plans for the year ahead as well as reflecting on the achievements of the previous year.

07 March 2014 by Kim Helfrich - defenceWeb

With approval, in principle at present from the National Treasury, Defence and Military Veterans Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s unhappiness about “her people” flying in aircraft more than 60 years old seems set to end, if only in a few years.

During his national budget speech last month Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan approved the acquisition of new maritime surveillance aircraft (MSA) in the 2015/16 fiscal term for the South African Air Force (SAAF).

The new aircraft, the number of which was not stipulated by Gordhan, will replace 35 Squadron’s C-47TPs, now well over 60 years old and the mainstay of the SAAF’s maritime patrol and surveillance capability.

Mapisa-Nqakula specifically mentioned the age of aircraft in the wake of the C-47TP crash in the Drakensberg in December 2012 which left 11 dead.

With the door now open for MSAs, two of the potential suppliers have both stressed the importance of acquisitions that can fulfil multiple missions rather than be dedicated to the single tasking of maritime surveillance.

Taking an extract from the draft Defence Review, hopefully still to be tabled during the current session of Parliament, Lockheed Martin points to the importance of airborne maritime surveillance. The Review states: “as a trading nation, with over 95% of our trade being reliant on maritime trade routes, the security of South Africa and its people is crucially dependant on the ability to trade, grow the economy, reduce poverty and provide meaningful work for South Africa’s people” and, in reference to the threat of piracy, “protection of the trade routes for merchant shipping is of vital national interest to the nation. No less than 75% of South Africa’s oil imports on which the economy depends arrives by sea from the Middle East.”

The United States aerospace and defence company’s relationship with the SAAF goes back more than 50 years, having delivered C-130 Hercules to the SAAF half a century ago. C-130BZs in service with 28 Squadron are still the SAAF’s major airlift and transport aircraft. However, with these nearing the end of their serviceable lives, Lockheed Martin maintains the new generation C-130J Super Hercules is the right replacement.

Apart from being able to do what the current SAAF BZ fleet does more efficiently, the J models are also multi-mission. This means configurations can be changed to suit specific taskings, ranging from transport of troops and equipment through to medevac, VIP transport, firefighting and maritime surveillance and patrol as well as search and rescue, an important tasking given South Africa’s responsibilities in terms of its massive economic exclusion zone.

In similar vein the C295 from the Airbus Defence and Space stable is also a true multi-mission aircraft. It offers transport in all its variants; maritime surveillance, unarmed with the option of either palletised or permanently installed mission systems; maritime patrol, armed and also with either palletised or permanently fitted mission systems as well as oil spill response and protection.

With no real prospect of growth in the defence budget, the SAAF would be getting “more bang for its buck” if aircraft acquisitions are of the multi-mission type. This would cut down on the number of platforms to be purchased and allow more different mission taskings.

These are only two of the possibilities SAAF acquisitions personnel will be investigating - many other manufacturers have also expressed interest in Project Saucepan, including RUAG, Saab, L-3, ATR and HAL. Another possibility comes from a suggestion made by retired lieutenant general Carlo Gagiano, when he headed up the airborne arm of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF).

He proposed acquiring a number of smaller twin-engined aircraft, in the King Air size, to be fitted with the requisite equipment and operated by SAAF Reserve Force pilots from airports along the country’s coastline. Given that current SAAF chief, Lieutenant General Zakes Msimang, has stated the revitalisation of the SAAF Reserve is one of his priorities, this could well add another arrow to the quiver that is maritime surveillance.

Reserve Force pilots based at say, Port Elizabeth, Durban and Cape Town, could utilise these SAAF assets, freeing up whatever other platforms are acquired for other duties.

All told, military aviation watchers maintain there are options aplenty available to the SAAF acquisitions personnel to beef up maritime surveillance and keep the seas off the country safe, essential given that South Africa is very much a maritime trading country.

13 November 2013 defenceWeb

A SA National Defence Force (SANDF) project team is burning the midnight oil on an urgent study to ensure extra airlift capacity for the SA Air Force (SAAF) becomes a reality.

Afrikaans daily Beeld reports Ilyushin 76s (Il-76s) are top of the list to supplement the ageing C-130BZs operated by 28 Squadron.

The acquisition of at least three of the massive Russian transport aircraft, probably second hand, is seen as essential to providing support for South African peacekeeping and peace support deployments on the continent.

The acquisition will be paid for out of the Strategic Capital Acquisition Master Plan (SCAMP), the paper reported.

Defence analyst Helmoed Heitman told the paper the establishment of the airlift project team could be traced back to the Central African Republic (CAR) deployment and the Battle for Bangui earlier this year. This because no suitable aircraft were available at short notice to fly much-needed Mamba vehicles to South African troops.

Lockheed Martin, manufacturers of the C-130, has made presentations to the SAAF as regards replacing the BZ, which has been in service for 50 years, with the new C-130J. The gap in airlift capacity became more pronounced when government bailed out of the Airbus Military A400M programme in 2009 citing cost escalations and production delays as the reasons for South Africa no longer wanting to be a risk sharing partner in the new generation airlifter. A deposit of R3.5 billion was refunded but indications earlier this year were at least part of that money was allocated to the controversial Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP).

Heitman told Beeld’s specialist defence writer Erika Gibson the SAAF has never before operated Russian aircraft and, if Il-76s were acquired, it would mean an overhaul of the logistic system to keep them operational. There are also currently no SAAF pilots rated on the Il-76.

The SANDF has used chartered Il-76s to transport equipment to places like the Democratic Republic of Congo for peacekeeping missions, as it is difficult to fit aircraft like Oryx helicopters into the SAAF’s C-130s without major dismantling. Chartering aircraft is an expensive undertaking – for example the SANDF spent R108 million chartering aircraft for operations in the Central African Republic between January and April this year.

The Il-76 is a four-engined strategic airlifter that first flew in March 1971. Nearly a thousand of these robust aircraft have been built for military and commercial operators around the world, with hundred still in service. The aircraft can carry between 42 and 52 tonnes of payload, depending on the model.

Picture: Frans Dely/Lockheed Martin

14 March 2013 by Kim Helfrich - defenceweb.co.za

It could be termed “a call to action” or even a friendly warning but the meaning is clear – unless those tasked with planning for the equipment needs of the SA Air Force (SAAF) don’t start now, the country is going to find itself grounded when it comes to airlift.

The SAAF maintains it can operate its ageing fleet of C-130BZ Hercules until 2020 but this doesn’t mean work on replacing these venerable workhorses shouldn’t start now. This is the view of Dennys Plessas, Lockheed Martin Vice President Business Development Initiatives, Europe, Middle East and Africa.

“A start has to be made on planning to replace the BZs,” he told journalists in Pretoria this week.

He acknowledged the South African defence budget, in common with many western countries, was under “extreme stress”. He noted that at a cost of between R693 and R780 million for the basic aircraft, it would be better to look at acquisition “sooner rather than later”.

With timeframes for delivery of up to five years from the date of initial contractual agreement to acquire new aircraft, this certainly makes sense. Plessas pointed out that fine-tuning of contracts and all documentation could take up to a year.

“When this, along with actual build time, fitting of customer specific requirements and testing is taken into account, there is not really too much time left for the SAAF to start serious work on the C-130BZ replacements.”

The SAAF C-130s are operated by 28 Squadron at AFB Waterkloof and this year notch up a remarkable 50 years of service. This Plessas sees as not only a tribute to the flying and maintenance skills of the SAAF and the maintenance and repair abilities of Denel Aviation but also the ruggedness of the aircraft.

“It has proven itself as a willing workhorse all over the world and has, over the years, been adapted to any number of missions.”

It’s origin as a pure airlifter has been boosted by the addition of mission capabilities including air-to-air refuelling, VIP passenger transport, firefighting, maritime patrol and reconnaissance, paradropping and even an armed version.

Airlift and maritime patrol are two red light areas of operation facing the SAAF and Plessas believes the C-130J can do these jobs as well as others.

“This would eliminate the need to acquire extra platforms and because the SAAF is a long-time user of the C-130, at least half the infrastructure needed for new Lockheed Martin platforms is already in place. I see an almost seamless transition to the C-130J if the planners decide it is the most suitable platform.”

This was further borne out by William Swearengen, Air Mobility Systems Studies Principal at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.

He and his team have completed a number of studies pertaining to the use of the C-130J by the SAAF. These include maritime patrols and air-to-air refuelling.

Working from AFB Waterkloof, the new generation airlifters, when suitably equipped, could refuel 2 Squadron Gripens on sorties across the continent. They could also provide full coverage, using a single aircraft, of South Africa’s exclusive economic zone and its priority fishing areas also from Waterkloof, obviating the need to duplicate facilities for maintenance at either AFB Ysterplaat or Port Elizabeth.

These studies show the latest generation Hercules will be a true multi-mission platform and when the possible inclusion of high-tech passenger capsules is added, the C-130J can be tasked in yet another area of operations the SAAF is battling to fill adequately.

Both Plessas and Swearengen point out the modular system of roll-on/roll-off components for different missions do not all have to be done at once.

“These are all already in service and development costs have been paid by the US Air Force. This means no extra cost and with all the necessary fitment options already on the C-130J they can be acquired as need and finance dictate adding more value to the multi-mission role of the aircraft,” they said.

28 Squadron has nine C-130BZs on its inventory to fulfil tasks ranging from logistic support for SA National Defence Force continental peacekeeping and peace support operations, humanitarian operations, support to the landward force, and general airlift. Indications are three, at most four, aircraft are airworthy at any given time.

The C-130BZs were scheduled to be replaced by Airbus’ new generation A400M airlifter, but this order was cancelled due to delays in production, and cost escalations. A deposit of R3.5 billion, paid to Airbus as a risk taking partner in the A400M programme, has been refunded to government but has not been allocated to aircraft acquisition. Indications are at least part of the refund went to the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Programme.

24 January 2013 by Dean Wingrin - defenceweb

The South African Air Force (SAAF) has defended the cancellation of its contract with Aero Manpower Group (AMG), a Denel business unit, and has hinted that a new contract may be negotiated.

The long standing contract between the SAAF and AMG provides specialist technical and support personnel who are responsible for the maintenance of a variety of SAAF aircraft at bases across the country. However, the SAAF has given notice to Denel that they will not be renewing the current contract, which terminates at the end of March.

Last week, Denel Personnel Solutions said that as there was no contract or orders beyond March 31 this year, the only option was “retrenchment of the entire AMG workforce”. AMG has held talks with the affected employees at the various SAAF bases and have outlined the plan for their retrenchment.

In response to negative media publicity, the SAAF has reiterated that the termination of the contract was because the contract had been declared irregular by the Auditor General.

Lt Col Ronald Maseko, spokesperson for the SAAF, said that “the contract dates back to a period (1986) where the current governance regime did not exist. Consequent to the Auditor General’s findings in 2009, that the contract does not comply with the Public Finance Management Act and National Treasury Regulations, the SAAF has engaged its strategic partner Denel Aviation in pursuit of an acceptable solution.”

Since then, Maseko notes, the Auditor General has consistently referred to this irregularity and the SAAF’s notice of termination dates back to 2011.

“The termination of the contract, in accordance with a provision stipulated in the contract, places the SAAF in full compliance with the Auditor General’s recommendations and allows the SAAF to develop its strategic partnership with Denel Aviation unhindered by governance irregularities,” Maseko emphasised.

Despite the looming crises which will severely affect the airworthiness of a number of SAAF aircraft, including those in the VIP squadron, the SAAF has not revealed any contingency plans should the contract not be renewed.

Trade Union Solidarity has said that at least 75% of the 523 Denel employees are in the scarce and critical skills band, without which efficient functioning of the SAAF will not be possible.

The VIP transport aircraft operated by 21 Squadron are almost exclusively signed out by AMG personnel and the effects of the contract cancelation will be keenly felt by the President and Cabinet Ministers. Other AMG personnel perform critical roles in workshops and testing laboratories.

Despite the impending crisis, Maseko notes optimistically that the negotiation of a new contract with Denel “can only benefit the development of a vibrant South African aviation industry that is capable of continued support to the SAAF in executing its mandate.”

Even SAAF personnel who work side-by-side with the AMG employees or who fly the aircraft are uncertain of what will happen from 1 April. While it appears that Denel may be going through the legal motions of advising their employees of a possible retrenchment, just in case a new contract with the SAAF cannot be negotiated in time, the affected personnel are going through a trying time.