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Defence & Aerospace

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... →

Saudi Arabia ‘ready to invest in the South African defence industry’

By: Rebecca Campbell 5th October 2018 State-owned Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) is seeking very close relationships with South African defence companies. "We are ready to invest in the South African defence industry and fund local research and development (R&D)," SAMI CEO Dr Andreas Schwer told "Engineering News" at the... →

Saab suggests capability upgrade for SAAF Gripens

By: Rebecca Campbell 5th October 2018 Swedish aerospace and defence group Saab has proposed to the South African Air Force (SAAF) than it adopt the latest incremental update developed for the JAS39C and JAS39D Gripen fighter. The update is designated MS 20. "The Gripen was developed with the concept of continuous upgrades – small... →

Govt looking at ‘modernising’ defence funding – Ramaphosa

By: Rebecca Campbell 5th October 2018 President Cyril Ramaphosa has stated that the Government was looking at reducing the dependency of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) on direct funding by the State. He was delivering the opening address for the Africa Aerospace and Defence 2018 exhibition at Air Force Base... →

Paramount appoints CEO for new South African subsidiary

By: Creamer Media Reporter 4th October 2018 Aerospace and defence company Paramount Group has appointed Mike Ramagoma CEO of its new subsidiary, Paramount South Africa. Paramount South Africa was founded to bolster the capacity of South African end-users by providing advanced technologies and solutions that form part of Paramount Group’s... →

Defence department to host supplier day

By: Simone Liedtke 2nd October 2018 The Department of Defence (DoD) will, on Friday, host a supplier day in Centurion, during which the department aims to build relationships with small, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs). The department will also be sharing details of its procurement processes with SMMEs. →

Davies to follow up on Saudi Arabia’s $10bn investment pledge

By: Simone Liedtke 1st October 2018 Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies will, this week, co-chair the eighth session of the South Africa-Saudi Arabia Joint Economic Commission (JEC), in Saudi Arabia, while simultaneously following up on Saudi Arabia’s $10-billion investment pledge to South Africa. This session of the JEC will... →

Denel fails to pay senior staff in reform setback

By: Reuters 1st October 2018 South African State-owned arms manufacturer Denel did not pay senior staff their salaries in full this month, the company said, in a setback for President Cyril Ramaphosa's drive to turnaround struggling state companies. Ramaphosa has made improving governance and stabilising the finances of... →

South African missile test programme concluded on a high note

By: Rebecca Campbell 28th September 2018 South African State-owned defence industrial group Denel has announced the successful completion of the guided missile qualification test series for the A-Darter infrared (IR) homing short range air-to-air missile system. The A-Darter is a fifth generation missile that uses an imaging IR seeker... →

Musings on the local aerospace and defence industries

By: Rebecca Campbell 28th September 2018 Last week saw the latest edition of Africa Aerospace and Defence, still the continent’s premier exhibition in this sector, attracting exhibitors and visitors from all over the world. And, naturally, drawing one’s thoughts to the state of the closely related but not identical aerospace and defence... →

Highlights from AAD 2018

27th September 2018 Creamer Media's Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Creamer Media's Senior Deputy Editor Rebecca Campbell about the highlights of this year’s Africa Aerospace and Defence exhibition. →

Highlights from AAD 2018

Saab suggests capability upgrade for SAAF Gripens

By: Rebecca Campbell 21st September 2018 Swedish aerospace and defence group Saab has proposed to the South African Air Force (SAAF) than it adopt the latest incremental update developed for the JAS39C and JAS39D Gripen fighter. The update is designated MS 20. "The Gripen was developed with the concept of continuous upgrades – small... →

The UK reaffirms wish to strengthen partnerships with South African defence industry

By: Rebecca Campbell 21st September 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... →

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