https://www.engineeringnews.co.za

Follow @EngNewsZA

Advertise on this page? Click Here to Learn More

Defence & Aerospace

Timetable laid out for further submissions in Zuma, Thales corruption case

By: African News Agency 30th November 2018 The Pietermaritzburg High Court on Thursday granted an order setting out the timetable for the prosecution of former president Jacob Zuma and French arms manufacturer Thales. However, Zuma’s legal team continued to claim that their client was not being treated fairly by the “dismissive” National... →

Denel needs partners soon to survive – Wakeford

By: Reuters 29th November 2018 South Africa's defence industry is facing a crisis as the State-owned arms maker Denel struggles to survive, and rapidly agreeing equity partnerships is the only way to save it, one of the country's top defence officials told Reuters. Denel's woes put at risk an industry estimated to directly... →

Work on Vaal river system rehabilitation project gets under way

By: Natasha Odendaal 26th November 2018 Work on the Vaal River System rehabilitation project, in Sebokeng, is now under way after a technical team from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) completed its assessments, Defence and Military Veterans Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has said. Following the deployment by Finance... →

Solid relations between India and South Africa good for bilateral trade and investment

By: Rebecca Campbell 23rd November 2018 South Africa and Indian already have a solid framework for strong relations, not least in the areas of trade and investment, Indian High Commissioner to South Africa (Ms) Ruchira Kamboj tells "Engineering News". "India and South Africa are old friends and historical partners," she highlights.... →

Audit outcomes of State-owned entities continue to regress

By: Kim Cloete 22nd November 2018 The audit outcomes of State-owned entities (SOEs) have regressed over the past financial year compared with both the previous year and 2014/15. The 2017/18 general report for the Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA) said there was an increase in noncompliance of the 16 SOEs it audited. It also... →

Vaal River pollution: 'There have been challenges to compliance', Sasol says

By: News24Wire 21st November 2018 Petrochemicals giant Sasol has denied that it is responsible for pollution in the Vaal river. However, it has admitted struggling to interpret some compliance requirements with regard to regulations on the discharge of waste. According to a report by the Department of Water and Sanitation... →

Khashoggi killing complicates Saudi rescue bid for Denel

By: Reuters 20th November 2018 Loss-making South African arms maker Denel has a problem as it fights to survive. Its potential saviour is Saudi Arabia, now drawing fierce criticism following the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. But after being mismanaged for years and tainted by a far-reaching influence-peddling scandal,... →

Pentagon to cut troops in Africa as focus shifts to China, Russia

By: Reuters 16th November 2018 The US military will withdraw hundreds of troops focused on counterterrorism operations in Africa over the next several years to support the Pentagon's increased focus on countering threats from China and Russia, officials said on Thursday. Earlier this year, the US military put countering China... →

Aerospace technology could help uplift Africa in many sectors, Airbus claims

By: Rebecca Campbell 16th November 2018 Giant Europe-based aerospace group Airbus has affirmed that aerospace technologies can play a key role in dealing with many of the socioeconomic challenges confronting Africa. It did so in a report, which it called a White Paper, that was released at the end of last month. at a special event in... →

Strong relationship bodes well for boosting India/South Africa trade and investment

By: Rebecca Campbell 13th November 2018 South Africa and India already have a solid framework for strong relations, not least in the areas of trade and investment, Indian High Commissioner to South Africa (Ms) Ruchira Kamboj tells Engineering News Online. "India and South Africa are old friends and historical partners," she highlights.... →

Defence sector code gazetted

By: Marleny Arnoldi 12th November 2018 Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies expects transformation in South Africa’s defence sector to gain traction, following the gazetting, on Monday, of the Defence Sector Code in terms of Section 9(1) of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Amendment Act. Davies says the development of... →

Numsa demands bailout for Denel

By: Reuters 9th November 2018 South Africa's government must urgently inject at least R7-billion into struggling State-owned defence group Denel, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) said on Friday. Denel reported a R1.7-billion for the 2017/18 financial year and is struggling to pay worker salaries and... →

Saudi Arabia makes $1bn bid for partnership with South African defence group Denel

By: Reuters 8th November 2018 Saudi Arabia has made a $1-billion bid for a broad partnership with South African State-owned defence group Denel that would include the acquisition of a minority stake in a joint venture with Germany's Rheinmetall, a source familiar with the offer said. Currently heavily dependent on imports,... →

Zuma to Gordhan: 'Can we do what Dudu wants?'

By: News24Wire 8th November 2018 Former president Jacob Zuma called Pravin Gordhan, then finance minister, in 2015 to try and convince him to agree to an enormously expensive deal with airplane manufacturer Airbus because his close friend Dudu Myeni wanted it. In his 68-page sworn statement delivered to the judicial commission... →

National composite cluster launched to stimulate advanced manufacturing

By: Schalk Burger 7th November 2018 The Composite Cluster, which was launched by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) space affairs chief director Nomfuneko Majaja during the inaugural Advanced Manufacturing and Composites Show, in Port Elizabeth, on Wednesday, aims to support the development and use of composites as part of... →

West African military force needs support, French Minister says

By: Bloomberg 6th November 2018 A West African military force to fight Islamist militants has only received a quarter of the money pledged at its deployment last year and is in urgent need of financial support, French Defense Minister Florence Parly said. Donors from Saudi Arabia to the US pledged to fund the force known as G5... →

Space probe en route to Mercury

By: Rebecca Campbell 2nd November 2018 The joint European-Japanese twin-probe BepiColombo space mission, to the Solar System’s innermost planet, Mercury, was successfully launched from Kourou in French Guiana in mid-October. The spacecraft, built by Airbus and launched by an Ariane 5 rocket, has four main elements: the Mercury... →

Denel ripe for joint venture partnerships - Ramaphosa

By: Reuters 1st November 2018 South Africa's struggling state-owned arms firm Denel is "ripe" for joint venture partnerships, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday, but added Pretoria would want to retain control if any deal went ahead. Ramaphosa said he hadn't yet applied his mind to a bid for Denel by Saudi, or any of... →

Denel reports R1.7bn operating loss for 2017/18, turnaround progressing

By: Marleny Arnoldi 31st October 2018 State-owned defence industrial group Denel on Wednesday, with the release of its yearly results, stated that its operating loss of R1.7-billion for the 2017/18 financial year clearly shows a business that has had a difficult year, marked by lapses in governance, mismanagement and poor contract... →

France to decide by 2020 on next generation aircraft carrier

By: Bloomberg 30th October 2018 The French military is studying what sort of aircraft carrier should replace the Charles De Gaulle, and should decide by the end of 2020, Defense Minister Florence Parly said on Tuesday. “The new French carrier will be floated by 2038,” she said on BFM television. “We must define its missions,... →

Manufacturer supplies stainless steel diesel field stoves to SANDF

26th October 2018 Manufacturer and exporter Desert Wolf plays an instrumental role in project teamster, which is the new South African National Defence Force (SANDF) project to upgrade the complete field kitchen facilities for the defence force and is currently supplying it with a range of stainless steel diesel... →

EXCELLENT RESISTANCE Desert Wolf supply mobile field cooking units made from stainless steel

Mboweni suggests need to downsize Cabinet, says public wage bill is 'unsustainable'

By: Marleny Arnoldi 24th October 2018 Finance Minister Tito Mboweni on Wednesday said the public service wage bill, which accounts for 36% of government spending, is unsustainable. The public sector wage bill should be closer to 30% of government spending, he added during his maiden Medium Term Budget Policy Statement speech. →

Mboweni calls for ‘open-minded’ approach to reconfiguration of State firms

By: Terence Creamer 24th October 2018 Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has called for a reconfiguration of South Africa’s debt-laden State-owned companies (SoCs) and has appealed to stakeholders to adopt an open-mind with regard to the form such restructuring could take, particularly in the cases of Eskom and South African Airways... →

Infrastructure at heart of reprioritised, stimulus-aligned expenditure plan

By: Terence Creamer 24th October 2018 Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has confirmed that expenditure worth R32.4-billion will be reprioritised over the coming three years in line with government’s recently released Economic Stimulus and Recovery Plan. The figure appeared to fall short of the R50-billion reprioritisation target outlined... →

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni

Johannesburg mayor Mashaba denounces Gordhan explanation on Denel loan

By: African News Agency 23rd October 2018 Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba has accused Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan of being "economical with the truth" in explaining how state owned arms firm Denel received a R290-million unsecured loan from the city's sinking fund management company. In a written response to questions in... →

International space probe en route to Mercury

By: Rebecca Campbell 22nd October 2018 The joint European-Japanese twin-probe BepiColombo space mission, to the Solar System’s innermost planet, Mercury, was successfully launched from Kourou in French Guiana on Saturday. The spacecraft, built by Airbus and launched by an Ariane 5 rocket, has four main elements: the Mercury Planetary... →

Photo by Airbus
Artist’s impression of the complete BepiColombo spacecraft, before it separates into its component elements, approaching Mercury

Russia to send more military trainers, equipment to Central African Republic

By: Reuters 22nd October 2018 Russia said on Friday it planned to send additional military equipment to Central African Republic (CAR) and deploy 60 more instructors to train the country's armed forces, escalating its most significant military foray in Africa in decades. Russia donated hundreds of weapons and sent 175... →

Rwandan President appoints new foreign, defence ministers in reshuffle

By: Reuters 19th October 2018 Rwanda's President Paul Kagame appointed new ministers of defence and foreign affairs in a cabinet reshuffle announced late on Thursday. Albert Murasira, an army general, replaced long-serving James Kabarebe as defence minister, the president’s office said, without giving a reason for the decision. →

South African army chief slams budget cuts as 'dangerous'

By: News24Wire 18th October 2018 Budget cuts at the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) could result in a lack of proper training for those who should be equipped to protect the country, the South African army chief has warned. General Lindile Yam was speaking at a media briefing in Thaba Tshwane on Thursday, where he... →

Workers strike over pay at South African arms maker Denel

By: Reuters 17th October 2018 Hundreds of South Africa's Solidarity union members held a strike on Wednesday over a pay dispute at cash-strapped State-owned weapons manufacturer Denel. Denel, which produces military kit for South Africa's army and foreign forces, has held talks with unions over voluntary severance packages,... →

Tellumat optimistic aerial surveillance system will fill gap in market

By: Schalk Burger 12th October 2018 The Astus unmanned aerial surveillance (UAS) system is a tactical surveillance platform with a line-of-sight range of 200 km, an endurance of 8-hours, and is a medium-sized UAS weighing under 100 kg. This makes it suitable for addressing a gap in the market for real-time tactical surveillance... →

Local constraints preventing SA civil aerospace firms from spreading wings

By: Rebecca Campbell 12th October 2018 In his speech, officially opening the recent Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) 2018 exhibition held at Air Force Base Waterkloof in Pretoria (City of Tshwane), President Cyril Ramaphosa made an all-too-brief reference to South Africa’s civil aerospace industry. “Some of our aircraft-related... →

New evidence shows arms deal commission 'ignored critical evidence of wrongdoing'

By: News24Wire 11th October 2018 New evidence to be filed as part of a court case taking the arms deal commission of inquiry’s findings on review purports to show that the commission ignored critical evidence, ignored the advice and documents provided by local and international investigators, and ultimately, through wilful... →

AAD 2018 aerospace and defence exhibition reports attendance figures

By: Rebecca Campbell 10th October 2018 Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) reported on Wednesday that its 2018 edition (held from September 19 to September 23) received 32 538 trade visitors. The show was divided into three trade days and two public days, the latter being over the weekend of September 22 and September 23. The two... →

Photo of AAD 2018, taken from an altitude of 500 km by an Airbus Pleiades satellite, on the first of the trade days (Airbus Defence and Space)

Denel proposes severance packages, salary cuts – union

By: Reuters 9th October 2018 South African State arms firm Denel is holding talks with unions over voluntary severance packages, reduced working hours and salary cuts for some staff as it struggles to emerge from a financial crisis, a union official said. The discussions underscore the extent of the financial difficulties... →

Aerospace group Airbus reveals its next CEO

By: Rebecca Campbell 9th October 2018 The board of directors of Europe-based major global aerospace manufacturing group Airbus announced on Monday that it had chosen Guillaume Faury as its next CEO. Faury is currently President of Airbus Commercial Aircraft. He will replace incumbent group CEO Tom Enders in April next year. Faury was... →

Photo by Airbus
Guillaume Ferry

UK reaffirms wish to strengthen ties with SA defence industry

By: Rebecca Campbell 5th October 2018 Britain was committed to further developing and strengthening partnerships with South Africa in the defence and security sectors, and not least with the South African defence industry. "The Prime Minister's [Theresa May's] recent visit here highlighted the importance the UK places on its defence... →

Topics In These Articles

RSS Feed

About

Engineering News is a product of Creamer Media.
www.creamermedia.co.za

Other Creamer Media Products include:
Mining Weekly
Research Channel Africa
Polity

Newsletters

Sign up for our FREE daily email newsletter

Receive daily sector news alerts

More

Subscriptions

We offer a variety of subscriptions to our Magazine, Website, PDF Reports and our photo library.

Subscriptions are available via the Creamer Media Store.

View store

Advertise

Advertising on Engineering News is an effective way to build and consolidate a company's profile among clients and prospective clients. Email advertising@creamermedia.co.za

View options

Subscribe