SANDF played huge roll in DRC polls
Date: 7 December 2011

The recent elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) provided a huge logistical challenge not only for the government in Kinshasa, but also for members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Outlining the South African National Defence Force's (SANDF) role in the run-up to the November 28 elections, Chief of Joint Operations Lieutenant-General Derrick Mgwebi said it was primarily one of providing support and logistics and was done in co-ordination with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).and the UN Peacekeeping Mission, (MONUSCO).

The ballot papers were printed in South Africa and had to be flown from O.R Tambo International Airport to various centres in the DRC. The South African Air Force (SAAF) participated in a massive airlift operation, flying 1 863 tonnes of election material to 13 transit points on 39 flights. The airlifts were completed by 22 November and had to keep to a tight time schedule. The SANDF chartered various aircraft including a Boeing 747, an Ilyushin 76 transport aircraft and a DC-9 which enabled large numbers of officials to be moved across the vast country. All consignments were escorted by members of the SANDF and were controlled from a joint SA-INEC-MONUSCO centre in Kinshasa.

Lt-Gen Mgwebi said SA had later also been requested by the DRC government to help collect the ballot papers from the south of the country after voting had taken place. This needed additional SAAF support and included six Oryx helicopters, two Dakotas, one CASA, and two medium transport C-130 Hercules aircraft.

To help the DRC cover the large distances involved in getting ballot papers to and from polling stations in a country with very limited infrastructure, the United Nations and countries in the region were also called upon to assist. The UN contributed more than 40 helicopters, Angola 5, the DRC four and neighbouring Congo-Brazzaville offered 2, but these were not used as they were not suitable.

He said the command team had regular feedback sessions during the operations and the different air forces had a good relationship and that inter-operability had been good. Joint exercises such as the SADC air exercise Blue Cluster earlier in 2011 had contributed to this.

Mgwebi said SA operated in the west and south of the country and its forces had been given difficult areas and tasks to perform, but acquitted themselves well. He also praised the electoral commission, saying they had done a good job under difficult circumstances.

General Mgwebi stressed that the SANDF contribution to the elections had nothing to do with its existing peacekeeping efforts in the DRC and the two operations were kept quite separate.

When the results were released after several delays on 9 December incumbent Joseph Kabila was declared the winner. Both the defeated opposition leader, Etienne Tshisekedi and the Carter Centre, which observed the process, have questioned the results. The Carter Centre pointed to systematic problems with the voting and tabulation period which lasted for nearly two weeks.

DRC is a vast, mineral rich country, but has been beset by political instability which has eroded economic development. It remains among the least-developed, with about two-thirds of its 70 million people earning less than $1, 25 per day, according to the UN.

http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/53d245004968ff1eb277b21c69973196/SANDF-played-huge-roll-in-DRC-polls--20111212

[img]http://1.bp..com/_dwS7qfzBHmQ/TQvJ8fmS-WI/AAAAAAAAJjg/8Iqz3wnfe0c/s400/world-cup-gripens.png[/img]

Latest Gripens arrive at last
Date: 10 October 2011

The South African Air Force (SAAF) had to wait an additional two weeks before receiving its newest Gripen fighter jets.

The ship bringing the four aircraft from Sweden to Cape Town has a mechanical problem, delaying her arrival in port by two weeks. The four Gripen C single-seat fighters were loaded aboard the cargo vessel Atlasgracht (registered in Amsterdam) at the port of Norrkoping in Sweden on 1 September.

Although due in Cape Town on 23 September, the Achtergracht blew a turbo charger and had to sail at reduced speed. The ship then anchored off Walvis Bay for a week before eventually arriving in Table Bay Harbour, Cape Town, in the early hours of Saturday 8 October.

Two seat aircraft, reported as serials 3920 to 3923, were towed the 8km from the harbour to AFB Ysterplaat on Saturday afternoon, while the second batch of two aircraft (possibly 3916 and 3922) were towed to the airforce base on Sunday morning. These times were selected as to cause the least amount of inconvenience to motorists.

They will be made ready for flight at the airforce base prior to departure.

The original Gripen order, placed in 2008 as part of the new defence equipment package, was for nine Gripen D dual-seat and 19 Gripen C single-seat aircraft. However, the order was revised in 2005 to nine dual-seat and seventeen single-seat aircraft.

Armscor, the South African arms procurement agency, is responsible for the delivery of the aircraft to South Africa once they have been handed over by the aircraft manufacturer, SAAB, in Sweden. All nine dual-seat Gripen D aircraft have already been delivered, while 13 of the Gripen C have now been delivered.
The last four Gripen single-seaters will be retained in Sweden to take part in Exercise Lion Effort next year. Lion Effort, scheduled for April/May, is a major Swedish Air Force exercise held every two years. Next year's edition should see several Gripen operators taking part. Other than SA and Sweden, Gripen operators include Thailand, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Thereafter, the last four South African aircraft to be ordered will also be shipped to South Africa, completing delivery of all the airplanes, helicopters, ships and submarines ordered under the 2008 ‘arms deal'.

http://www.saairforce.co.za/news-and-events/1033/latest-gripens-arrive-at-last



[img]http://2.bp..com/_-qJN0Na0LjA/TR91wL0szAI/AAAAAAAAArk/g1ihpnWvNd8/s640/SAAF+Gripen+over+Soccer+City+Stadium%252C+Johannesburg%252C+South+Africa.jpg[/img]

[img]http://cdn.defencetalk.com/wp-content/themes/dStyle165/scripts/timthumb.php?src=http://cdn.defencetalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/denel-ah2-rooivalk-helicopter.jpg&w=365&h=245&zc=1[/img]

Upgraded Rooivalk Handed Over to South African Air Force

The upgraded Rooivalk combat support helicopter has been handed over to the South African Air Force for operational duties. The helicopter, designed and manufactured in South Africa, was received by the Chief of the SA Air Force, Lt Gen Carlo Gagiano.

The Chief Executive Officer of Denel, Talib Sadik, says the handover is the culmination of 25 years of research, development and high-technology manufacturing. “This is a product that the South African public can be proud of – locally designed, locally manufactured and, now, ready for deployment by our local Air Force,” says Sadik.

Lt Gen Gagiano says the Rooivalk will contribute significantly to the ability of the SAAF to fulfil its mandate in peacekeeping operations and to support the future deployment of South African soldiers.

The handover at the Denel Aviation campus in Kempton Park follows on a rigorous testing and evaluation programme by the SAAF. The first five helicopters will be operational at 16 Squadron, which is based in Bloemfontein. The remaining six will be completed and ready for deployment later this year.

Sadik says the upgraded Rooivalk Mark 1 has been tested at the Air Force’s Test Flight and Development Centre (TFDC) since the beginning of November 2010. The evaluation included day and night flight operations, target identification and tracking, cannon firing, and evaluation of the secure communications modes and self-protection features.

“We received very positive reports from both the flying and ground support crews,” says Kgobe. “Our upgrade programme for the Rooivalk was completed on track and on schedule.”

The Rooivalk project started its design phase in 1984 and had its first flight in April 1990. It attracted world-wide attention for its unique design and capabilities and have been displayed at major international air shows in England, Dubai, Malaysia and Cape Town.

Denel Aviation was responsible for the final modifications to the helicopter to improve its safety and reliability and accuracy of its weapons systems and to complete all outstanding certification flight testing to enable application for a full military type certificate at the Cabinet-agreed deployment baseline.

During the retrofit programme all 11 SAAF production Rooivalk aircraft will be brought up to the Mark 1 standard. The programme includes the significant remanufacturing of certain gearbox mounting components that were found to be out of specification on a number of aircraft.

Kgobe says the recent evaluation included the testing on Rooivalk of the upgraded Mokopa anti-armour guided missile developed by Denel Dynamics. Live firing of the upgraded missile from Rooivalk was done in January this year at the Denel Overberg Test Range. The missile scored direct hits on targets, both at the long- and short range limits of the missile, demonstrating successful weapons carriage and release from the aircraft, missile target lock-on and missile flight characteristics.

New external fuel tanks now increase the Rooivalk’s self-deployment range by 50%. Denel Saab Aerostructures assisted with detailed design of the tanks and is also responsible for manufacturing.

The original Rooivalk was designed as “an attack helicopter and tank killer” to meet the needs of SA Defence Force as it existed in the 1980s, explains Sadik. The changing role of the SANDF, which is now primarily engaged in mandated peacekeeping missions, meant that aircraft systems had to be adapted to meet the new requirements effectively.

“Rooivalk is now a modern, sophisticated, combat support helicopter, ready to be used by the SANDF in any of its potential deployed operations,” he says.

Denel Aviation will be responsible for the deeper-level support capabilities to sustain flying operations. This includes all maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) work done on the Rooivalk fleet.

“As design authority and original equipment manufacturer we will ensure that the Rooivalk remains fully operational throughout its assigned life,” says Kgobe.

http://www.defencetalk.com/upgraded-rooivalk-for-south-african-air-force-33229/

SA submarine outwits Nato force

Atlantic Ocean - A lone South African submarine has left some North Atlantic Treaty Organisation commanders with red faces Tuesday as it "sank" all the ships of the Nato Maritime Group engaged in exercises with the SA Navy off the Cape Coast.

The S101 - or the SAS Manthatisi - not only evaded detection by a joint Nato and SA Navy search party, consisting of several ships combing the search area with radar and sonar; it also sank all the ships taking part in the fleet.

At several times during the exercise that lasted throughout Monday night and Tuesday morning a red square lit up the screens where the surface ships thought the submarine was. but it remained elusive.

This gave Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota something to brag about when he landed on the SAS Amatola on Tuesday to speak to the media

"To be able to frustrate detection by Nato nations is no mean achievement, it speaks of the excellence of the equipment we required for this purpose," Lekota said.

And while this left one of the world's strongest military alliances frustrated, it was also a sign that the group had a capable partner in Africa, Lekota said.

"With sustained interoperability with foreign forces such as Nato we are well positioned to respond to any unforeseen circumstances that may confront either ourselves or other regions," he said.

Lekota was quite clear that a working relationship with Nato was desired.

"They have a partner of reliable capability because we are forging here working relations, we are building mutual confidence for what can be done and what we can do together as Nato and SA or as Nato and Southern African nations," Lekota said.

These sentiments were echoed by the commander of the Nato maritime group. Rear Admiral Mahon, who said the deployment would see the group sailing right around Africa.

"I can't speak for what the future will hold but certainly this was valuable. Africa is a strategic continent. The freedom of the seas, energy, security, they are all critical issue to Nato countries," he said.

The exercises would continue till the end of the week and would include live fire exercises, ship to ship refuelling, search and seizure exercises and various other scenarios faced by modern navies. - Sapa
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/SA-submarine-outwits-NATO-20070904

SA sub “sinks” Atlasur fleet

A South African Navy submarine returned to Cape Town on Sunday, having successfully participated in an international maritime exercise which included twice transiting the South Atlantic Ocean. In the process, they “sank” two vessels of the opposing fleet.

The submarine SAS Charlotte Maxeke (S102) participated in Exercise Atlasur VIII, a multinational maritime exercise between the navies of South Africa, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. This year, the exercise was hosted by Argentina and the submarine departed Simon’s Town naval base for the Argentine naval base of Mar el Plato on October 4.

Although the submarine was joined by the combat support ship SAS Drakensberg (A301) in its deployment to Argentina, they did not travel in convoy and the submarine operated independently on the 3700 nm voyage to Argentine waters. However, the two vessels did spend one day together at the mid-mark position.

Speaking to defenceWeb in an exclusive interview aboard the submarine prior to docking in Simon’s Town, the captain, Commander Daren White, said: “The boat was so well prepared, we didn’t need any assistance.”

Although the surface ship evolutions comprised the majority of the exercise, the Charlotte Maxeke also exercised with the Argentine submarine ARA Salta (S-31). These evolutions included submarine-against-submarine, formation transit and evading P-2 Tracker as well as P-3 Orion anti-submarine patrol aircraft.

The crew of the Charlotte Maxeke were particularly proud of their accomplishments. Lieutenant Commander Graham Mountifield, operations officer, recounted: “Our last exercise was where we had to attack the combined Atlasur surface fleet. We penetrated the screen and simulated the firing at the Uruguay (a Uruguayan frigate) and the Drakensberg. We sunk them both.”

White noted that only once before has a South African submarine crossed the Atlantic. That was in 1993 when the old Daphne class boat SAS Maria van Riebeeck (S97) went to Argentina. The trip across the Atlantic is generally feared as it presents logistical and other problems.

White continued, “Because we were crossing the Atlantic and the fear of the unknown, we decided to reduce our speed to 6.7 kts, which made it 23 days. It just made it more comfortable, we really didn’t know what to expect with the currents, weather, etc. It’s lucky we did that, because we went through a hectic storm which lasted about five days.”

During the storm, the submarine went deeper than normal in order to reduce the roll. As they had that experience, the return trip was faster, taking only 20 days. “On the way back, we did a replenishment at sea exercise with the Drakensberg. Not because we needed fuel, but because we wanted to do the exercise,” White explained.

The Argentine navy or Armada Argentina currently operates three submarines, of which the Salta, also a Type 209 submarine, is similar to the Charlotte Maxeke. However, it is an older version, built in the early 1970’s. An Argentine submariner accompanied the Charlotte Maxeke from Simon’s Town to Mar el Plato, while another submariner was aboard for the return trip. During the exercise, three Argentine submarine crew were also aboard. “They were sonar people, to see how we do the sonar,” White said.

After the exercise, the Charlotte Maxeke went alongside the Drakensberg in Montevideo, Uruguay for a goodwill visit and participated in the Uruguayan Fleet Review to celebrate their Navy’s 193rd anniversary.

The Charlotte Maxeke has had a busy 2010. The total distance covered during the recent trip, over 64 days, was 9800 nm, of which 81% was under water. The submarine completed Exercise IBSAMAR, together with Brazil and India, just a week before leaving for Argentina. “We penetrated the IBSAMAR fleet, also a screen, at night off Scarborough and fired a torpedo,” a proud White commented.

Prior to that, the submarine participated in Operation Kgwele, the SANDF safety and security contribution to the Soccer World Cup and also performed a 31 day patrol off the South African east coast. All in all, the Charlotte Maxeke spent 103 days at sea during 2010. The crew of the Charlotte Maxeke can be proud of what they have achieved. For White, arriving back safely had an additional necessity: His wife is expecting twins in a week’s time.

In light of this, the last words should go to White: “The guys are tired, very happy, but tired.”

http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11078:sa-sub-sinks-atlasur-fleet&catid=51:Sea&Itemid=106

Denel has signed two major defence deals since the end of its financial year in March, Minister of Public Enterprises Malusi Gigaba said yesterday. One of these is slated as the largest contract, in terms of value, ever awarded the company.

“The two significant export contracts in the Middle East and Far East signed recently. This is proof that the capabilities at Denel are world class,” he told journalists at a media event to announce the state arsenal's new group CE, Riaz Salojee.

Details are sketchy but outgoing Denel CE Talib Sadik said one contract involved missile-maker Denel Dynamics and the other Denel Land Systems (DLS). He declined to go into further detail, citing client confidentiality agreements.

A clue as to the value as given in Denel's annual report for the year to March 31, in which former chairman Dr Sibusiso Sibisi said the company was “particularly pleased that our marketing strategies and efforts are paying off, as contracts of about R5 billion have been concluded shortly after year-end.”

The New Strait Times newspaper in Singapore in April last year reported that Malaysian defence company DRB-Hicom Defence Technologies (Deftech) had earmarked Denel as its technology partner for systems integration and the joint manufacture of turrets and 30mm cannon for a new infantry fighting vehicle for the Malaysian Armed Forces.

Deftech had been contracted to build 257 of the 8x8 vehicles at a reported cost of eight billion Malaysian ringit (about ZAR18.5 billion in 2010). The design is based on the Turkish FNSS Pars (Anatolian Leopard). The value of the SA share of the work was not disclosed.

DLS CE Stephan Burger at the time said the deal was “also good news for the Denel group as the programme extends to other Denel business entities such as Denel Dynamics for the Ingwe Missiles and PMP for ammunition.”

http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21743:denel-inks-two-big-deals-detail-sketchy&catid=50:Land&Itemid=105

South African missiles and unmanned air vehicles (UAV) company Denel Dynamics CEO Jan Wessels told Engineering News Online on Tuesday that the Department of Defence (DoD) has expressed interest in its new products and programmes. This is because the DoD recognises that, to keep missile and UAV technology capabilties within the country, there must be continual technological development.

On the programme side, development of the A-Darter infrared homing air-to-air missile (a joint project with Brazil) is coming to an end, and the focus will soon move to industrialisation and production. As this missile enters production, the design and engineering teams will need new work to keep them challenged and at the leading edge of their trade.

“I believe the DoD will contribute to the funding of a follow-up development missile programme, but its exact nature and funding model is still under discussion,” stated Wessels.

The DoD is also interested in the company’s latest UAV, the Seeker 400. Initially funded by the Denel group as an internal investment, it is now being fully developed on the basis of an export order for the type, from a customer for Denel’s earlier UAV systems.

Denel Dynamics describes the Seeker 400 as a "typical entry level” long endurance UAV. It will be able to stay in the air for 16 hours and simultaneously operate two payloads.

A proposal to split Denel Dynamics into specialist missile and UAV companies has been abandoned, because both businesses make use of a common engineering and technology backbone. This common backbone creates the opportunity for the company to acquire or develop other related businesses as well.

The company is also seeking to rejuvenate its work force. It has been developing young talent for some years, but has been frustrated by having a lot of its young engineers poached by other companies.

“But now, we’re really succeeding in retaining our young engineers and getting them enthusiastic about our business,” reported Wessels. “Our engineers do real design and development engineering of leading-edge systems. They get their hands dirty. As young engineers they don’t just sit behind desks but have the opportunity to participate internationally.”

http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/sa-defence-interested-in-supporting-local-missile-and-uav-technologies-2012-01-18

South African armoured and mine protected vehicle company BAE Systems Land Systems South Africa (Land Systems SA) announced export orders worth some R1.2-billion for its RG31 and RG32M vehicles on Wednesday.

Sweden has placed a follow-on order worth more than R550-million for another 110 RG32M mine resistant patrol vehicles, to join the 260 the country has already received, while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has signed a contract worth over R500-million for the mobile mortar platform (MMP) version of the RG31 Mark (Mk) 6 mine protected armoured personnel carriers.

The UAE order totals 73 vehicles, and follows from the delivery of four prototype MMP vehicles which were tested and evaluated during 2010. These were not based on the Mk 6 version of the RG31.

“We worked with the client and developed a version based on the Mk 6,” explained Land Systems SA communications, corporate responsibility and business excellence director Natasha Pheiffer to Engineering News Online on Wednesday. “Eleven vehicles for the UAE will be delivered this year, and the rest in 2013. For Sweden, deliveries will start in mid-2012 and be completed in 2013.”

“These contracts are a significant success to our South African business and in contributing to the local economy through sub contracts to local suppliers,” stated Land Systems SA MD Johan Steyn in a press release. “The RG31 and RG32M have consistently delivered superior levels of protection from land mines, improvised explosive devices and other threats to many customers worldwide and mark a standard of operational effectiveness.”

To date, more than 2 166 RG31s have been delivered to a number of clients across the world. The vehicle is combat proven and a mature design. The RG32M can fulfill a number of roles, including command, liaison, reconnaissance, patrol and peacekeeping.

http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/local-defence-company-wins-export-orders-for-183-mine-protected-vehicles-2012-01-11

Dondav I think that you are a confused person.

This post has been removed by the moderators

"we are from the internet"

I lol'd

Dondav:

Wits or pretoria! Or which would u recommend?

Both are good but it depends what course you will be doing

Dondav:

Must I remind you guys dat i'm goin there to study, and perhaps its easier to migrate to other countries from south africa compared to Nigeria.

Which institution are you going to study at?

lol. It's just a way to make the Nigerian government borrow at lower interest rate

Damn, that sucks

Do you have a work permit?

If Japan owns $979.0 billion dollars of American debt then who owns Japan's $13.5 trillion debt? China? And does that mean they have a claim on the $979.0 billion that America owes Japan?

^^^^^^

It's people like the poster who contribute to the bad image that Nigeria has and you are eloquently excusing his unlawful actions by providing some sympathetic reasons to justify illegality in a foreign land and you further go on to suggest that we should not question it since we "do not have enough information". Why should we not question or even judge a person who admits to over-staying his legal welcome and proceeds to ignore the labour laws of a country that allowed him entry in good faith? He then boasts of how he has made enough money to go globetrotting, money that is untraceable and non taxable. All the while he gives praise to God Almighty for guiding him through his unlawful conduct. The work that he has done might not have contributed to damaging our society and environment in fact maybe the work he did made a good contribution to South Africa overall but it still remains illegal and we are judging him based on that.

Because he over-stayed his visa, his entire stay and everything he does in SA will be built on a illegal foundation. If we were wrong about him he would've been quick to show us that he is legit so our assumption that circumstance has made him delve into dodgy avenues will prevail.

^^^^^^

Are you able to make £5000 in 2 months start-up anywhere in the world including your own country?

The poster doesn't have a work permit so the contract he talks about(if it exists) is illegal. The visa that he got which he has now over-stayed gave him the right to come to SA and spend money not to make money even if legit. So what he has done is unlawful.

He's now holding a Section 22 permit which gives him asylum seeker status pending the outcome of his refugee application. Home affairs will reject his application because will have failed to prove that his life was in danger due to
persecution of anykind from his home country. Home affairs usually grants asylum to gäy people since they already know that they are being persecuted

[img]http://3.bp..com/_GIik0MXdqgQ/TAQAaoGOEEI/AAAAAAAAAwo/17uspmF4XP4/s1600/DSC00746.jpg[/img]

[img]http://2.bp..com/_GIik0MXdqgQ/TAQNA6kgpRI/AAAAAAAAAyw/l3cDg51AZRo/s1600/DSC00792.jpg[/img]

[img]http://2.bp..com/_GIik0MXdqgQ/TAQOF6xgvvI/AAAAAAAAAzg/SE_6OKadOSg/s1600/DSC00808.jpg[/img]

[img]http://3.bp..com/_GIik0MXdqgQ/TAQOYkRSDEI/AAAAAAAAAzw/aRRCDOJQ6i0/s1600/DSC00802.jpg[/img]

[img]http://4.bp..com/_GIik0MXdqgQ/TAQP8EklChI/AAAAAAAAAz4/geCayAMVm0A/s1600/DSC00777.jpg[/img]

[img]http://2.bp..com/_GIik0MXdqgQ/TAQQgPRjgzI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/dzn3PJQknho/s1600/DSC00816.jpg[/img]