Transall on/off sale off again!
Date: 13 October 2000
The Afrikaans daily, Beeld, reports the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) has placed the sale of eight ex-SAAF C160 Transall transports on hold for reasons not altogether clear.
The paper said the disposal service of Armscor (the DoD procurement agency) had received a firm R200-million offer for the aircraft, spare parts and manuals. The aircraft were withdrawn from SAAF service about seven years ago and have since been parked in the open -and in a growing state of neglect- at Waterkloof AFB. Beeld did not reveal the identity of the buyer but said the country was not politically sensitive. The aircraft also did not fall into the NCACC's "A" and "B" arms groups (sensitive weapons that could inflict death or destruction), but into "C", non-sensitive equipment. Reportedly other influential buyers were also keen to acquire the aircraft and were placing pressure on South Africa to sell to them rather than the original client.
Defence Systems Daily
