South African National Defence Force (SANDF)

Citation :

Released on Thursday, October 15, 2009

Successful First Flight of the SAAF PC-7 MKII with new Cockpit

The South African Air Force (SAAF) has contracted Pilatus to integrate an avionics upgrade on 35 of their Pilatus Astra PC-7 MkII fleet. The main objective of the upgrade is to remove the obsolete avionic equipment from the fleet and replace it with new modern "glass cockpit" components that will be procurable and supportable until the aircraft's out of service date.

The trial installation aircraft upgrade was performed at Pilatus Aircraft in Switzerland during 2009. This trial installation was used to validate the modifications, kit lists, tooling, and procedures required to perform the modifications of the remainder of the aircraft in South Africa. The first flight of the modified aircraft took place on 23 September 2009 and was a significant achievement on the programme schedule.

The modification of the rest of the fleet will be embodied by Aerosud, under contract to Pilatus, at Langebaanweg Air Force Base in South Africa. Aerosud will be supported by Pilatus Field Service Engineers during the initial embodiment period. The first in-country aircraft modification is scheduled to commence in mid November 2009 after which the remainder of the aircraft will be modified in a staggered approach. The duration of the fleet embodiment in South Africa is expected to be three and a half years.

The contract also includes two new Flight Training Devices, Training, Ground Based Training Systems and Spares.

http://www.deagel.com/news/Successful-First-Flight-of-the-SAAF-PC-7-MKII-with-new-Cockpit_n000006676.aspx

...

Citation :

Afrique du Sud : une marine "seulement pour la vitrine"


Les couteux sous-marins et frégates qui ont couté des milliards au contribuable sud-africain, resteront au port pour les 3 prochaines années, parce qu’il n’y a pas d’argent pour les faire naviguer.

Selon le ministère sud-africain, son budget n’est pas suffisant et il n’a aucun espoir qu’il soit augmenté.
Selon le projet stratégique du ministère pour les 3 prochaines années, soumis au Parlement sud-africain mercredi dernier, le budget permettra aux 18 bâtiments de la marine sud-africaine d’effectuer 10.000 heures de mer en 2011-2012 et 9.000 heures par an 2012 et 2013.
Capacités opérationnelles


Selon l’opposition, il est clair que la défense sud-africaine "perdra toutes ses capacités opérationnelles".
"Pour la défense maritime, selon les chiffres du ministère, les bâtiments de la marine passeront 23 jours en mer et 328 jours à quai. N’avoir que 8 bâtiments — dont les frégates et les sous-marins — serait plus réaliste : cela signifierait qu’ils passeraient 55 jours en mer et 299 à quai."
Selon Helmoed-Römer Heitman, un spécialiste de la défense, ce budget est scandaleux. "Si c’est la façon dont la marine est gérée, elle ferait tout aussi bien de fermer ses portes."
Achetés pour la vitrine


"En ce qui concerne notre marine, il est maintenant claire que les frégates et les sous-marins ont seulement été achetés pour la vitrine."
Thabang Makwetla, vice-ministre de la défense, explique que ce n’est pas la faute de la marine et que le problème provient d’un budget de la défense inadéquat.
Selon le Professeur Renfrew Christie de l’Université du Western Cape, l’Afrique du Sud dépense actuellement environ 1,2% de son PIB pour la défense, contre 4,5% en 1989.
Selon la Banque Mondiale, une défense fonctionnelle devrait se voir allouer au moins 2% du PIB.

News24

Très bien, une bonne nouvelle pour moi personnellement...A force de se prendre pour des grands voila le résultat

une "puissance" en papier..

Citation :

South African budget woes

The South African Air Force cannot afford to fly its Gripens, says a newspaper.

Gary Parsons - 5-Mar-2010



March 5: A South African newspaper claims that the country’s military finances are “hopelessly inadequate” and that Saab Gripen fighters will be mainly grounded due a lack of funds.

News 24 says that the South African government’s strategic plan for defence for the next three years will see 550 hours flown by the Gripen fleet this year, but reduce to just 250 hours in 2011 and 2012. The allocation for this year is mainly for security flights during the football World Cup tournament during June and July.

The South African Air Force has eleven Gripens delivered from an order for 26 aircraft, nine being the twin-seat JAS-39D model and the rest single-seat ‘Cs.

NATO requires fighter pilots to log 240 flight hours per year to remain operationally functional. "Our air force is only barely going to be able to keep two fighter pilots in business”, said a South African military expert to the newspaper.

http://www.key.aero/view_news.asp?ID=1708&thisSection=military

Citation :

South African Air Force unveils new IRIS-T missile


The newly delivered IRIS-T air-to-air missile was shown to the public for the first time at the South African Air Force’s 90th anniversary parade held at AFB Swartkop, Pretoria.
2010-03-10 | In 2008 the SAAF selected the IRIS-T as an interim short range air-to-air missile. It will ultimately be replaced by the indigenously designed and produced A-Darter, which is still under development.

Lt Gen Carlo Gagiano, Chief of the SAAF, said: “This missile is the state of the art high kill probability short range air missile with unrivalled performance capabilities which, when coupled to a helmet mounted display can engage air threats in the rear quarter of the aircraft as is the case with the SAAF Gripens”.
South Africa has ordered 26 Gripen state-of-the-art fighters which are modernising the SAAF’s fast jet fleet and capability. It currently operates nine dual seat Gripen D aircraft and will soon receive its first of 17 single-seat Gripen C fighters

aviationnews

Citation :

Gripen ready to protect the World Cup Soccer in South Africa


June 9, 2010 by Marcel van Leeuwen








Gripen will be on the frontline, providing airspace security and protection for the planet’s biggest sporting event of the year, the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup, being held across South Africa from 11 June – 11 July.
South Africa’s growing fleet of state-of-the-art multi-role Gripen fighters will be deployed in air patrols over Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, Rustenburg, Polokwane and Nelspruit, which are hosting games.
South Africa has ordered 26 Gripen fighters, comprising nine dual-seat Gripen D and 17 single-seat Gripen C aircraft.
The South African Air Force’s Gripens are stationed at 2 Squadron, at AFB Makhado in the Limpopo province. The aircraft were successfully deployed on airspace patrol missions during last year’s FIFA Confederation Cup soccer tournament, a curtain-raiser for this year’s main event. In addition, they have also participated in peace enforcement exercises.
Gripen is designed to meet the demands of current and future threats, while at the same time meeting strict requirements for safety, reliability and training efficiency. It achieves all of these with impressively frugal operating costs.
At Gripen’s core is its ability to switch operational roles in flight. At the touch of a button, Gripen can meet the increasingly demanding multi-role conflict zone requirements.
Its weapon system lets Gripen deliver air defense and air superiority. Simultaneously, it provides formidable offensive air support, anti-ship, reconnaissance and advanced tactical training capabilities.
Gripen’s sophisticated integrated digital data sensors and systems give it the power, intelligence and agility to fight the modern and future “information war”.
The cockpit is designed and built around the “don’t need, don’t show” principle. It provides the pilot with all of the necessary decision support needed in complex tactical operations, but without the distraction of superfluous information.
Gripen carries all of the weapons needed to meet current operational requirements independently and in cooperation with allied forces.
Its weapon system facilitates the integration of future weapons to tomorrow¹s threats. This was highlighted earlier this year when the newly delivered IRIS-T air-to-air missile made its public debut at the South African Air Force’s 90^th anniversary parade.
Source: SAAB

Citation :

Gripen ready to protect the World Cup Soccer in South Africa

Quelle belle pub

SAAB, protecteur officiel de la coupe du monde south africa 2010

il doit alors straffer pas mal de criminels dans les rues

Citation :

South Africa Purchases Raytheon Paveway™ Laser-Guided Bombs
First sale of significant U.S. defense equipment to South Africa in 25 years

FARNBOROUGH, England, July 22, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The South African Department of Defence awarded Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) a contract for Paveway II laser-guided bombs.

Raytheon will provide the South African military with LGB computer control groups and air foil groups that transform "dumb" bombs into precision-guided munitions for operational test and evaluation on South Africa's Gripen fighter aircraft.

ARMSCOR awarded a contract on behalf of the South African Air Force for the procurement of LGB bomb kits. ARMSCOR, the Armaments Corporation of South Africa, is the officially appointed acquisition organization for the South African DoD.

The direct commercial sale was negotiated with the assistance of South Africa's ATLANTIS Corporation and calls for Raytheon to begin delivery in 2011. In addition to the weapons, Raytheon will provide air- and ground-crew training.

"The combat-proven Paveway family of weapons is integrated on more than 22 aircraft and serves 41 nations around the globe, making this weapon the ideal choice for the South African warfighter," said Harry Schulte, vice president of Raytheon's Air Warfare Systems product line. "Raytheon is the sole provider of the Paveway family of weapons and is committed to providing the warfighter with a reliable direct-attack weapon at a cost-effective price."

http://raytheon.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=1610

Citation :

South African Cheetah Fighter

pas encore retirés?

Yakuza a écrit:

pas encore retirés?

Oui vous avez raison Il fur retiré en avril 2008

MAATAWI a écrit:

Oui vous avez raison Il fur retiré en avril 2008

Et proposé à la Colombie, ou l'Equador... Je me rappelle plus...

Edit: Proposés à l'armée de l'air équatorienne.

l afrique du sud a plus un deollars pour faire voler leur chasseur ou encore faire naviguer leur navires!!!! un article est paru dans ce sen il y a quelques mois

Raptor a écrit:

MAATAWI a écrit:

Oui vous avez raison Il fur retiré en avril 2008

Et proposé à la Colombie, ou l'Equador... Je me rappelle plus...

Exacte l'equador avez acheté 12 exemplaires

MAATAWI a écrit:

Raptor a écrit:

MAATAWI a écrit:

Oui vous avez raison Il fur retiré en avril 2008

Et proposé à la Colombie, ou l'Equador... Je me rappelle plus...

Exacte l'equador avez acheté 12 exemplaires

Oui en effet merci, en cherchant j'ai trouvé l'article

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2355733/posts

said a écrit:

l afrique du sud a plus un deollars pour faire voler leur chasseur ou encore faire naviguer leur navires!!!! un article est paru dans ce sen il y a quelques mois

c'est ca de vouloir péter plus gros que son c** car on a vu ce petit pays se lancer dans des domaines qui le depasse de loin et suivre une stratégie économique qui Ne mène nulle part, mais vouloir faire des pats de géant peut faire casser la gueule , a mon avis avant de produire il faut trouver l’acheteur, et avant d’acheter il faut garantir les moyens nécessaire pour le maintien et l’utilisation dans de bonnes conditions, aussi ne jamais acheter plus que son besoin

Citation :

CSIR to Develop Optical Maritime Surveillance System for South African Navy
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is developing an omni-directional optical maritime surveillance system for the South African Navy (SAN).
The system constitutes five digital cameras with an 82° field of view and the captured images from the cameras will be combined to form a single image with a 360° coverage.
The development system uses only daylight cameras but the operational system will have the integration of night vision and/or thermal imaging cameras.
The focus of the current project is on detecting and tracking slow-moving contacts such as vessels and helicopters.
The SAN has opted for the optical system because it cannot be detected by other forces, whilst being inexpensive and complementary to radar.
The production system is expected be fitted to the navy's four Valour Class frigates and to future offshore patrol vessels, according to the Engineering News.

naval-technology

Citation :

New Reconnaissance Pod Ready for South African Gripen

Thales on 23 September 2010 announced the delivery to Saab of its Digital Joint Reconnaissance Pod (DJRP), for installation on the South African Gripen. The announcement was made during the Africa Aerospace & Defence exhibition in Cape Town. Saab will now start a series of integration flight trials.
The DJRP completed its factory integration tests in June and will now be installed on the Gripen platform. Handover of the reconnaissance pod to the South African Air Force (SAAF) will occur after the integration phase.
Christian Lamoureux, CEO of Thales South Africa, says: “We are proud of this important milestone in our long-standing relationship with the South African Air Force.”
The DJRP is integrated onto fighter aircraft, such as the Gripen, and takes high-resolution images of the battlefield as it flies overhead. The digital images from the pod are then exploited by Image Analysts on the ground to assess what tactical decisions need to be taken.

defpro

Citation :

Thales Optronics has delivered an undisclosed number of its Digital Joint Reconnaissance Pod (DJRP) to SAAB of Sweden for installation on the South African Gripen. The announcement, made last week during the Africa Aerospace & Defence exhibition in Cape Town, did not mention numbers or the value of the deal. Saab will now start a series of integration flight trials.

The media release adds the DJRP completed its factory integration tests at the company's Scottish operation in Glagow in June. Handover of the reconnaissance pod to the South African Air Force (SAAF) will occur after the integration phase. Aviation journal Flightglobal reports this will be from June next year.

Christian Lamoureux, CEO of Thales South Africa, says the company is “proud of this important milestone in our long-standing relationship with the South African Air Force."

Thales Optronics' sales and marketing director Geraint Lloyd describes the DJRP as "a bespoke reconnaissance sensor with broad-area swath coverage", and confirms that the company was selected via prime contractor Saab. The DJRP is integrated onto fighter aircraft, such as the Gripen, and takes high-resolution images of the battlefield as it flies overhead. The digital images from the pod are then exploited by Image Analysts on the ground to assess what tactical decisions need to be taken.

The programme may be further along than the statement suggests. Journalists attending the SAAF's air capability demonstration earlier this month were given a black-and-white photograph printed on site at Roodewal of the crowd watching the spectacle, downloaded by datalink from a passing Gripen.

Flightglobal adds Thales Optronics beat competition from Rafael's Reccelite and a system already in use with the Swedish Air Force's Gripens – believed to be from Danish supplier Terma - to win the SAAF deal.

The selection represents a follow-on success for Thales, with the company having previously acquired UK supplier W Vinten, which provided its Vinten 18 wet film reconnaissance systems for the SAAF's now-retired Denel Cheetah fighters, Flightglobal adds.

Weighing around 250kg, the DJRP has already been integrated with the UK Royal Air Force's BAE Systems Harrier GR7/9 and Panavia Tornado GR4 strike aircraft, and with BAE's Hawk advanced jet trainer. With the SAAF's inventory including 24 Hawk 120s, Lloyd says the reconnaissance pod's "multi-platform capability" was a significant factor in its selection for the service.

http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9797:saaf-gripens-to-gain-new-recce-pods&catid=35:Aerospace&Itemid=107

Citation :

South African Air Force to solo first Gripen pilots

The South African Air Force (SAAF) will on Thursday present the first locally qualified Saab Gripen fighter pilots during a solo flying event to be held at Air Force Base Makhado. The four pilots, three males (black, Indian and white) and a first-ever SAAF female Gripen fighter pilot (white), successfully completed the type Operational Conversion Course (OCC).

The SAAF in a statement says the “achievement is a milestone in the history of South Africa, the SANDF and the SAAF as this is the first OCC to be presented by local SAAF pilot instructors from 2 Squadron... The four newly qualified Gripen fighter pilots will fly solo to showcase the SAAF’s combat readiness in ensuring that the airspace over the Republic of South Africa, its citizens and its sovereignty are protected.”

The South African government, on behalf of the Air Force ordered 28 Saab Gripen C & D advanced light fighter aircraft in 1999 as part of a “strategic defence package”. The Gripen were acquired as a package with 24 BAE Systems Hawk Mk120 lead-in fighter trainers. At the time Treasury put the figure for the two types combined at R15.772 billion. Only in 2007 did separate figures emerge: R7.2 billion for the Hawk and R19.908 billion for Gripen, making for a combined R27.01 billion, a considerable increase over the original figure.

The first four Project Ukhozi two-seat SAAF Gripen D were delivered on September 17, 2008 during the opening ceremony of that year's Africa Aerospace and Defence exhibition. Gripen D deliveries ended in July 2009 and the first two Gripen C arrive in South Africa on February 11, 2010. The SAAF currently has nine D and six C-model aircraft. Delivery of the last aircraft is expected in 2012. he SAAF will then have 26 of the type, having trimmed two from its order.

The SAAF was the aircraft's first export customer and second user after the Swedish Air Force. Since the fighter has been adopted by the Czech and Hungarian air forces and ordered by the Royal Thai Air Force.

Although still in project phase an not an operational system, the Gripen conducted about half the 51 aircraft intercepts conducted during the June/July soccer world cup were conducted by the type. he SAAF deployed 11 of the available Gripen during the month-long tournament as well as 12 of 24 BAE Systems Hawk lead-in fighter trainers.

Air Force director fighters, Brigadier General John Bayne, told a Gripen briefing at the SAAB chalet at Africa Aerospace & Defence 2010 exhibition that some 347 combat air patrols (CAP) were flown to secure all 64 games. In a similar briefing in August, Major General Les Lombard, the General Officer Commanding the Air Force Command Post said with “that grouping of aircraft we could cater for various threats, be it from paragliders right up to the possibility of hijacked airliners.”

For this purpose the Gripen were allocated 276 flying hours and the Hawks 279. Bayne says the five two-seat Gripen D were 98% reliable and the six single-seat Gripen C 89%. The Hawk was 98% reliable. At any given time 8.95 of the 11 Gripen were available and 11.6 of the Hawk. Maintainability was 89% for Gripen and 92% for Hawk. Bayne observed that the figures for Gripen would have been higher had it been an operational system.


(Courtesy by defenceWeb; First published at http://goo.gl/du7y)

defpro

Citation :

First Saab Gripen Female pilot



This week, the South African Air Force created aviation history. One of the four South African Air Force (SAAF) pilots to successfully complete the first Operational Conversion Course (OCC) instructed by local SAAF pilots, is a woman.


Captain Catherine Labuschagne, made her solo Gripen flight at the South African airbase Makhado in the Limpopo province of South Africa. This will give her a place in the record books as the first female Gripen pilot.

Captain Labuschagne is one of several women serving as pilots in the SAAF and she previously flew the Impala jet before she qualified on the Hawk Lead-In-Fighter trainer to prepare her for the transition to South Africa’s front line fighter.

She did fly in the rear seat of Gripen back in 2004, then making history as the first woman pilot to fly Gripen, this time however, she took to the skies in a single seat Gripen and the instructors at 2 squadron stayed on the ground.
The four newly qualified Gripen fighter pilots will strengthen SAAF and the 2 squadron as they will reach operational status sometime next year when their conversion course is completed.

The South African government ordered 26 Gripen C/D fighter aircraft in 1999 as part of a “strategic defence package”

Recently the SAAF Gripen force, although still in a project phase and not formally an operational system, conducted a large part of the air policing during the FIFA soccer World Cup.

Source and photo: SAAB

Citation :

South Africa's "Klooster" Artillery Project Moves to Closure

The South African Army is moving closer to closure with Project Klooster, the acquisition of an artillery target engagement system (ATES) for the field artillery. It has placed a R64 290 859 order on Thales Defence Systems (TDS) for the “procurement and production of final spares for artillery target engagement system, Build A”.

A separate R3 752 224 contract was awarded to Spektrum Logistics Support Services CC of Atlasville under contract EAES/2010/111 for the maintenance and repair of artillery optical equipment.

The ATES, type classified the AS2000 in SA Army Service, is the successor to the AS80 under Project Dibula by TDS' predecessor, Teklogic. A production action plan was approved in October 2004 with deliveries for a first regiment set to commence in September 2007 and deliveries for a second in April 2008. AS2000 allows gunners to manage their guns and rocket launchers, analyse muzzle velocity, compute and track meteorological data and effect technical and terminal fire control. It also allow artillery commanders to command and control their guns and fire units as well as to communicate and transfer data.

ATES consists of three integrated parts, namely an observation and terminal fire control subsystem; an artillery command and tactical fire control subsystem; and, a deployment management and technical fire control subsystem. Its elements are fitted to individual guns, mortars and rocket launchers as well as issued to battery, regimental and other headquarters and forward observers.

The cost of the total system is unknown, but suggestions are the total value is around R700 million.
Yesterday's order follows a R3 691 545 order (EBEB/S2009/2337) in January and a R25 984 990.56 deal in June 2007 for the production and supply of Build A (EBEB/S2007/2111). Both were extensions of the base contract, EBEB/2000/336. A further R8 758 850 order was placed in June 2009 for support and maintenance of the ATES.

Citation :

South African Hawks Drop SDP Probe

South African investigators have halted a decade-long probe into graft allegations around the purchase of fighter jets from BAE Systems and frigates from a group of German companies, saying they are unlikely to secure further convictions.

The investigation “wasn’t really getting anywhere,” Musa Zondi, a spokesman for the police's Hawks investigative unit, told Bloomberg financial news service today. “It’s closed. The National Prosecuting Authority, on the basis of the evidence we had, couldn’t charge anyone.” The Sowetan and Mail & Guardian (M&G) newspapers reported the decision as made last month by Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation head Lieutenant General Anwar Dramat.

Dramat told the Sowetan yesterday: "I instructed that it must be closed." He refused to give reasons. "No, sorry. You can make a written enquiry," he said. Bloomberg reports the South African government has faced accusations since 1999 that officials took bribes from companies that won weapons contracts worth R47.4 billion. “Among those implicated were President Jacob Zuma. Charges against him were dropped in April last year,” Bloomberg said. The M&G reports the bribes, disguised as commissions and miscellaneous expenses may have amounted to more than R1 billion.

Dramat last month said R300 million may have illicitly changed hands in the fighter deal, and a further $25 million during the purchase of the warships. He told Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts the investigation would take at least another five years and millions of Rand to complete and it needed to be determined whether it would be in the country’s best interests to pursue the case.

Investigators in the fighter case would have had to wade through 460 boxes of evidence and 4.7 million computer-generated documents that were seized from a raid on seven premises in November 2008. BAE Systems, Europe’s biggest defence company, agreed in February to pay almost US$450 million to resolve bribery and fraud investigations by US prosecutors and the British Serious Fraud Office, some of which were linked to the arms sales in South Africa, Bloomberg added.

While the South African case was excluded from the plea bargaining, the agreement in the UK may have made witnesses less likely to testify in South Africa, Dramat said. BAE Systems did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment today, the news service said.

In June 2008, German state public prosecutors dropped a two-year bribery investigation of ThyssenKrupp AG, Germany’s largest steelmaker and part of the group that supplied four frigates to the South African Navy. Two former ThyssenKrupp employees who were involved in the sale were fined and given summary suspended jail terms of six and eight months for offences not directly connected with the deal. The group’s Johannesburg-based spokesman said he could not immediately comment on the case.

In his September 8 briefing to SCOPA, Dramat said the Hawks had reopened the investigation into the SDP after C2I2 CE Richard Young laid new charges of corruption in November last year. But last week Hawks investigator Colonel Johan du Plooy told Young that Dramat had terminated the investigation on September 21. Young slammed Dramat's decision. "If Dramat refused to provide Sowetan with the reasons, that is unbelievable. It shows they have something to hide," he told the Sowetan.

Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille, who first brought the allegations to Parliamentary attention, also slammed Dramat's decision. "There is no legal basis for him to drop it because there is enough evidence and a prima facie case for him to investigate it. He must have received a political instruction. But how can he ignore what the law demands of him?" she asked.

SCOPA chairman Themba Godi was reportedly also shocked at the news. "To cease the investigation is a dramatic development," Godi told Sowetan.

The Democratic Alliance's David Maynier said "it was clear when Dramat appeared before SCOPA there was not much appetite to continue the investigation into corruption in the deal. It is a travesty of justice". A “reliable source” told Sowetan that the Hawks have a "multitude" of other pieces of evidence of bribery in their possession, including financial records showing that German arms dealers claimed tax deductions on the bribes they allegedly paid.

Asked this week why Dramat had closed the German leg of the investigation, Zondi told the M&G the “main reason was that the investigation has not yielded any evidence that the prosecuting team finds useful." Zondi did not answer a follow-up question about how such a conclusion was possible without attempts to secure the evidence from Germany having been followed through, the paper said. Zondi said the fighter leg of the investigation had been closed because the NPA had advised that "it is not possible to draft charges against any person".

defpro

Citation :

Denel to Service South African Navy Guns



The South African Navy has awarded a contract to Denel Land Systems for the maintenance of its guns and to provide associated support services.
The navy artillery includes a 76mm OTOMelera, a 76mm/62 super rapid medium-calibre automatic cannon, a Denel Land Systems GA35 35mm dual purpose automatic cannon and a SAN mk1 20mm automatic cannon.
The 76mm cannon is capable of hurling a 6kg projectile up to 8,000m at a rate of 120 rounds a minute, though the maximum range is 18,400m at 45°.
The GA35 twin-gun system can destroy attacking helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, and surface-to-surface missiles against surface vessels and shore targets, in symmetrical and asymmetrical combat.
The SAN mk1 20mm automatic cannon is a standard lightweight weapon aboard the River Class inshore patrol vessels / mine countermeasures vessel, the Warrior Class offshore patrol vessel and Valour Class frigates.
The R10m contract was awarded in addition to the R2 304 622 award to EDH (SA) of Stellenbosch to support a 76mm muzzle velocity radar system.

naval-technology

Citation :

South African defence budget cuts - Gordhan giveth, Gordhan taketh

South African Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan has cut this year's defence budget by R272 742 000 [R1.000 = $0.142, €0.103 - Ed.] taking the R30 715 333 allocated in February down to R30 442 591 for the year to March 2011.

This is in addition to earlier “efficiency savings” imposed on the Departments of Defence and Military Veterans by the National Treasury. In February Gordhan cut defence spending by R8 billion over the next three years. on the Department of Defence. The cuts come at a time when state revenues are down sharply and government is under pressure to deliver better social service. But the cuts also come as Members of Parliament, defence officials and comentators warn that the budget - even before the efficiency drive - was insufficient and that cost-cuting was damaging the military.

The Treasury's Estimates of National Expenditure document released with the national budget pruned the current budget by R3.2 billion, next year's by R2.2 billion and that of FY2012/13 by R2.1 billion. “Included in the total reduction is a saving of R4.5 billion due to the cancellation of the Airbus A400M aircraft contract” the ENE said.

Gordhan also authorised unforeseeable and unavoidable expenditure of R225 million under the Force Employment programme. “An additional R200 million is allocated for the South African National Defence Force for the support provided to the South African Police Service during the hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup,” the Adjusted Estimates of National Expenditure released today says. “An additional R25 million is allocated for support provided during the 2010 public service strike.”

Adjustments due to “significant and unforeseeable economic and financial events” include an additional R352.4 million within the budget for “higher personnel remuneration increases than the main budget provided for, including the increased housing allowance”. The funding relates to last December's across-the-board salary increase for the military. “...as Commander-in-Chief of the SANDF [South African National Defence Force] , it is my pleasure to announce increases in the salaries of members of the SANDF, who are on salary levels 2 to 12, from privates to colonels or the occupational class of military practitioner. The increases will range from 2% to 65%, and this is effective from December 1, 2009,” Zuma said December 16.

defpro