End of year message
Date: 31 December 2009
As yet another year draws to a close, one tends to reflect on the events of the past year and wonder: Just were did the time go and what has been achieved?
Looking back at the SAAF
So it was with the SAAF. The past year has been one of ups and downs, new problems and old. And so it was that funding and skills shortages continued to plague the SAAF, with regular reports throughout the year.
The year started on a very familiar note with the airforce expressing concern over A400M Loadmaster delays. These concerns, together with the cost over runs, were to be a regular feature throughout the year. Ironically, the year ended with another A400M acquisition bombshell: the costs of acquiring the eight aircraft had risen so high that the Cabinet cancelled the purchase contract. This has left the SAAF in a bit of a quandary, plans to acquire new short/medium transport aircraft have yet to reach the request for proposal stage and the C-130BZ Hercules are left to soldier on for a few more years yet with no replacement in sight.
Another topic that was to rear its head a number of times over the year was the efforts by the airforce to team up with private sector players, including airline group Comair and defence company Denel, in a bid to alleviate its severe skills shortage.
The annual Air Force Day Parade was held at the Swartkop airfield near Pretoria at the end of January. However, it was a day more fitting for ducks than flying machines as the rain literally poured on the airforce's parade!
In February, it was noted that the extension to the contract for the Oryx life extension: (upgrade and overhaul of the Makila 1A1 engines) was awarded to Turbomeca Africa (Pty) Ltd.
Good news for the Gripen fighter system was that Denel Aerospace Group continued to be funded for the development of the A-Darter air-to-air missile.
Standards of SAAF pilot training was called into question in March when newspaper reports alleged that two Astra training aircraft may have been written-off over a period of four days by two pupils. Requests to the SAAF regarding these incidents are still unanswered.
Mid-March saw a Hawk training aircraft overrun the end of the runway at Swartkop, sustaining minimal damage to its undercarriage, during Exercise Shield 3.
The new Gripen fighter participated in a simulated operational exercise for the first time during the Air Capability Display at the Roodewal weapons range in April. On the same day, the sixth and seventh Gripen D aircraft destined for the SAAF arrived in Cape Town harbour.
It was a proud moment for the SAAF when the biggest SAAF flypast since 1994 took place over the skies of Pretoria, with the inauguration of the new South African President on 8 May.
Tragedy struck the SAAF later that month when the three crew members of an A109 LUH (Captain Wayne Bongani Mdluli, Lieutenant Simon Lehlohonolo Baloyi and Flight Sergeant Mone Izak Zuidmeer) were killed when their helicopter crashed into the Woodstock Dam near Bergville, Kwazulu-Natal.
A major milestone in the Gripen acquisition program was achieved in June when the first single-seat Gripen C destined for the SAAF (serial 3910) flew for the first time in Sweden. Hopes of the aircraft arriving in South Africa before the end of the year were dashed and it is now only expected early in 2010.
The SAAF proved that they were willing and able to meet their Soccer World Cup obligations when a range of SAAF assets deployed to safeguard the FIFA Confederations Cup during June.
The eighth and ninth (and final) dual-seat Gripen D aircraft arrive in Cape Town in July. Also linked to the Gripen, it was revealed that the Gripen would be equipped with Thales Optronics-produced digital joint reconnaissance pod (DJRP) reconnaissance system.
July also saw a major change in the training syllabus of pupil pilots when a request for quotation was issued for the lease of a side-by-side trainer aircraft. This resulted in the airforce outsourcing its basic flying training to a private flying school. The training is the first step in a three-tier training system, in which the airforce will hire its own basic aircraft to perform the basic training. Thereafter the ab-initio training will no longer be outsourced.
A request for quotation in September revealed that the SAAF was interested in the GBU-12 Paveway II weapon system.
The final Agusta A109 LUH helicopter (of 30 ordered) was delivered to the SAAF at the end of September.
October saw the first SAAF pupil pilots to receive training on the Cessna C172 side-by-side trainer arrived at Babcock Central Flying Academy at Grand Central, Midrand.
The SAAF requirement for five specialised Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) and eight cheaper general-purpose Maritime Surveillance Aircraft (MSA) was revealed at a Maritime Conference in October.
October also saw the first flight of a SAAF PC-7 Mk II with upgraded avionics take place at the Pilatus Aircraft factory in Switzerland.
Rounding off an eventful October and after years of controversy and delay, the main runway of AFB Waterkloof was re-opened. It had been closed since 2006 for a R700 million reconstruction of the main runway and adjacent taxiways.
The fifth of November saw fireworks when Cabinet decided to terminate the multi-billion rand Airbus A400M military aircraft procurement contract.
The year ended with the SAAF successfully covering the airspace over Cape Town during the draw for the 2010 Soccer World Cup that took place during November. Numerous Gripens, Hawks, an A109 and a BK117 were temporally deployed to the Cape to support locally based C-47TPs, Astra and Oryx aircraft.
Only two official SAAF airshows were held during the year, with the Swartkop airshow being deemed the best ever, while the AFB Overberg airshow was enjoyed by all who attended.
The Unofficial SAAF Website
2009 has also been an exciting year for the Unofficial SAAF Website.
A major new addition to the website was the introduction of the "SAAF Vehicles" section, detailing the various vehicles and ground equipment used by the SAAF.
Over 100 articles were published over the past year, with hundreds of new photographs being added to the Gallery.
I was privileged to have flown to the Roodewal Weapons Range for the SAAF Air Capability Demonstration held in April. Being invited to tour various foreign naval vessels, including the Russian nuclear powered battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy (Peter the Great) and the nuclear-powered submarine USS San Juan, was quite an honour.
The SAAF Forum (www.Saairforce.co.za/forum/) has been very active and some of the discussions have been very detailed and thorough.
The Unofficial SAAF Website as well as the SAAF Forum has accomplished much in the past year. This has only been possible with your support and encouragement and I hope you will support our continuing efforts in the coming year. Thank you!
Saab Systems South Africa are also to be thanked for continuing to sponsor and support my website.
Wishing you and your families a Happy Holidays and a safe, prosperous New Year.
Kind regards
Dean Wingrin
Webmaster:
The Unofficial South African Air Force Website
