New chief may battle to get air force off the ground

There have been delays in key programmes, including that of the Rooivalk attack helicopter

WHEN an early 1940s South African Air Force Dakota aeroplane taxied along the runway preparing for a takeoff on Friday night from Makhado Air Force Base in North West Province, one of its wings clipped a tree and was damaged.

The dent in the wing tip was not serious and the aircraft could be repaired in half a day, but the plane had to be inspected for structural damage.

On board the Dakota was a group of defence correspondents who had spent the day at a firepower demonstration and a press conference about the air force's long list of problems.

The air force itself has taken more big blows rather than dents over the past over the past month, but rather than due to accidents many of them may stemming from a combination of poor planning and underfunding.

It is The new chief of the air force, a fit-looking former fighter pilot, Lt Gen Carlo Gagiano, who is now saddled with these burdens.

He insists the problems are all short-term and the new air force will be in place over the next five to ten 10 years with new Gripen fighters and the latest generation of A400M military air transporters.

And, he says, more than the current 8% of pilots will be black.

What is unusual is Gagiano's candour on the range of problems which could be an effective means of pressuring Parliament for higher-levels and better-planned budgeting.

Gagiano places much of the blame for the air force's current set of problems on "continued and prolonged underfunding of operational systems", which he says means that aircraft, air bases, and support equipment have deteriorated.

Seven of SA's nine C130 workhorse military transporters used to supply troops on peacekeeping missions have had to be grounded and it is unlikely that they will fly until May next year.

There have been delays in key programmes, including that of the Rooivalk attack helicopter.

That's The delays are due to staff departures at Denel, and means it the craft will not be able to be used to give fire- power support to South African troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo for a year.

"The C130 problem is a huge blow," admits Gagiano.

The US manufacturers of the C130, Lockheed Martin, recently issued a global "stop-fly order" because of wing spar problems.

They aircraft are due to be inspected soon, but even if some are then given the go-ahead to fly, they may not be able to leave the Waterkloof air force base because work must urgently begin on a massive relaying overhaul of runways there. at Waterkloof Air Force Base.

The runways at Waterkloof was were originally designed for fighter aircraft and C130 transporters and not the jumbo jets and massive military transporters which that have increasingly been increasingly operating from the base in recent times.

Indicative of the lack of planning is that although the need for a runway upgrade was known has been apparent since 2003, R126m for the work at Waterkloof still needs to be allocated from the defence budget.

Apart from possibly preventing some C130s from flying, the work at Waterkloof will disrupt VIP air traffic, including the president's plane, which will have to be diverted to Johannesburg International Airport.

And in an extra burden on the air force will be providing a helicopter shuttle service will have to be provided to Pretoria from Johannesburg International for passengers on the president's jet.

The shortage of C130s means that the air force is having to stretch its extending the use of its three Boeing 707s to supply South African troops on peacekeeping missions. Another problems is that only two of the three Boeings are available at any one time.

The high number of resignation from technical ground crews, responsible for the servicing of aircraft, is also compounding problems.

To address this, Gagiano wants to find new ways to boost morale, but it is taking place the staff shortage comes at the worst possible time as the fleet of widely used Oryx helicopters is due for an upgrade after 15 years of use.

And due to the delays in the introduction of the light, general-purpose Agusta A109 helicopters, the life of the Alouette fleet, introduced in the 1960s, has had to be extended.

Later this year the air force will be coming up witha present a new vision statement. That is likely to include a wish list for new unmanned aerial vehicles, but also a commitment to better planning and a well-grounded and consistent budget.

Business Day