Why is it that when success is made in Africa whites are credited and when failure occures blacks are the main culprit. So sad that the South African Army is still seen as success due to whiteman's presence. I find it insulting that certain Nigerians in this forum seems to see life through the prism of colour.

In posting these pictures it was not to score political points but to show a military capability of the South Africans including its battle tested and Internation sought after weapons. Whites are South Africans whether you like it or not @Patriot2.

As for secrets in this age and time means hiding what is not there, we all know the standard readiness of the Nigerian Army

SEE THIS PICTURE OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MADE VEHICLES THAT SAVED NATO FORCES PARTICULAR THE UNITED STATES ARMY IN AFGANISATN AND IRAQ

Thiza:

Why is it that when success is made in Africa whites are credited and when failure occures blacks are the main culprit. So sad that the South African Army is still seen as success due to whiteman's presence. I find it insulting that certain Nigerians in this forum seems to see life through the prism of colour.

In posting these pictures it was not to score political points but to show a military capability of the South Africans including its battle tested and Internation sought after weapons. Whites are South Africans whether you like it or not @Patriot2.

As for secrets in this age and time means hiding what is not there, we all know the standard readiness of the Nigerian Army

SEE THIS PICTURE OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN MADE VEHICLES THAT SAVED NATO FORCES PARTICULAR THE UNITED STATES  ARMY IN AFGANISATN AND IRAQ

Who is this insolent South African? You are insolent. This is a Nigerian forum and you do not need Nigerians to validate the strength of the South African military. Posting a thousand pictures won't give you that validation neither will being insolent get it for you. If you think your Army is the best there is, good for you.  You think war is all about your fancy pictures and insolent words ? You want South Africa to engage Nigeria in war? In your delusion, you think Nigeria can't engage your country gun for gun, man for man, jet for jet, bomb for bomb? You are simply deluded. A country at peace is different from a country at war. Find something else to do and stop your insolence !

Truth hurts and reality bites, just enjoy, pictures speaks a million words

Only those with bloated ego would deny the standard, professionalism and combat readiness of the SANDF

Proudly made in South Africa products

Composition of a united force based not on colour, creed or sex

@akwasi, the nigerian army carries a made in nigeria AKM, a mordernised version of the AKM. The nigerian secret service user tarvor-21 and it is by far the best intelligence service in africa. What do you guys have in ghana?
@ thize, there is no doubt that the south-african military is the best in africa. nigerian military photo's are hard to find, but judging from defence budget @ 2-3 billion dollars over the years, only a small fraction of countries, lets sy 2 or 3 ( south africa, egypt) are better than nigeria. With this years security budget at over 6 billion dollars, you can't tell. The nigerian military has all the equipments shown in your photo's including made in nigeria APC's and a made in nigeria survillence drone ( amebo-1).

Dr been

Here is a brief about the South African National Defence Force to those who may not know it and to those with distorted views here are the facts:
History of the South African Special Forces:
The South Africa Special Forces are known as the Recces and are the main special forces branch of the defense force for South Africa.

Their History

The South African Special Forces Brigade, as they are also known, were created on 1st October1972 as a reconnaissance commando team. They now consist of several regiments and are headquartered in Seskop, Pretoria Gauteng. They have been restructured several times through the years and now consist of several brigade sized forces.

How To Become A Member Of The Recces

All members of the Recces must be soldiers as well as South African Citizens to apply for this special forces unit which is considered to be one of the most challenging in the world. There is pre-selection training, as well as other courses for those who make this first cut. Candidates must be part of the military and must meet very stringent requirements in order to be considered for pre-selection training.

Recces Training

Pre-selection training consists of psychological and physical tests as well as oral examinations. There are strenuous physical tests of endurance that must be performed. These include a 3 km run in full gear to be completed in 13 minutes; 67 sit ups to be done in 2 minutes, rope climbing, wall scaling and 40 non-stop push ups. In addition, each cadet has to perform 120 shuttle kicks, climb a wall that is 10 ft high and complete a 15 kms march within 2 hours.

They must demonstrate maturity as well as physical qualifications before they can continue to the parachuting course and then to the orientation course.

The psychological tests include oral interviews with Special Forces NCOs in addition to written tests. Even a hint of mental instability can lead to instant exclusion from the army training.

After they have completed the Orientation course, all soldiers must then go through intensive land, sea and airborne training.

Land training includes tracking and survival, reconnaissance and demolitions and sniping.

Sea training includes swimming, navigation, diving, underwater demolitions and beach reconnaissance.

Advanced airborne training includes rappelling and free falling.

What Are They Best At?

They are best at reconnaissance, sabotage, underwater demolition and counter terrorism.

Weapons Of The Recces

A full range of military weapons are used by this special forces brigade similar to those used by the SAS and Navy Seals.

Known Missions

The South African Recces were active in Angola as well as Namibia during the 70s and the 80s, during which time their main adversary was the South West Africa’s People Organization ( SWAPO). The SWAPO was comprised of a group of guerillas fighting for an independent Namibia.

“Operation Mebos”, carried out in 1982 was one of their most well known operations. During this operation, the Recces stormed and destroyed the SWAPO headquarters, which was located deep into Angola. Later, in 1984, they carried out “Operation Askari”. In this operation, they severed all supply lines to and from SWAPO.

Units

There are several units consisting of the 1 Reconnaissance Commando, the 4 Reconnaissance Commando, the 5 Reconnaissance Commando and the 7th Medical Battalion.

Are They Professional Soldiers?

The members of this special forces elite team are professional soldiers, most of whom remain with the special forces until retirement.

What it was all about:
A Small Team, (2 Operators), or a Team, (12 Operators), would do this. In such an operation, a Reconnaissance Mission would be undertaken on an enemy strategic position – on a military position or a military complex in a (for example, in Angola).


Firstly, one would have to infiltrate. This would entail walking to the target area -

In enemy territory all the way.
In a war situation, with enemy soldiers and forces (very good and highly trained ones) all along the route - constantly searching for us.
With potentially hostile local population all over the place, who would instantly inform the enemy soldiers if we were detected.
With the enemy having complete air superiority, and having helicopter and helicopter gunship patrols frequently.
With no possibility of any support, resupply or evacuation by ground or air.
Carrying all food, water, sleeping equipment, military equipment, and ammunition - of a quantity that could last for weeks.
Meaning that the weight of one's rucksack - excluding webbing and weapon/s - would be 60kg to 80kg - or in some cases 100kg. (As an educational exercise, just try to walk normally - or lift - a rucksack weighing 80 kg).
Walking in over 300km to 400km or more - inside enemy territory.


Infiltration would be long and arduous, moving mostly at night, conducting anti-tracking, lying up in hides in the day, avoiding all enemy forces and local population - all the while carrying this killing weight, navigating accurately through the bush or through mountains, crossing crocodile-infested, deep and fast-flowing rivers (not by bridge), coming across lions and other dangerous animals, eating and drinking hardly anything to conserve rations, tolerating all weather conditions from freezing to frying and from tropical rain to no water at all, never speaking, never cooking, never making noise, always doing anti-tracking, always alert - all the while aware that if you were compromised, you were on your own, and however far you were in - so far you would have to get out - without any help, and with the full and mighty force of the enemy hunting you.



At the target area, one would have to get into a hide right at the enemy position - which could be a base harbouring thousands of enemy soldier. “Right at” the enemy position meaning right in direct sight of the base with the Unclad eye. One may also have to move around to various hides at various points around the enemy base, all the time making maps, notes, records, assessments, etc. On various occasions, the reconnaissance would entail penetrating right inside the actual enemy base to conduct reconnaissance.



Once enough information had been obtained, one would have to exfiltrate - all the way back - on foot, with all the obstacles and challenges that one had faced on the infiltration. The only difference would be that one may be running low on water and food - and could not -without extreme danger of being compromised - take food from fields or go to rivers / waterholes for water, as these are they are routinely busy or watched.



If one was compromised on the infiltration or exfiltration, the enemy would deploy hundreds or thousands of men between the contact point and the border - by plane, by helicopter, by vehicle, on foot from their forward bases. They would form huge interdiction lines cutting off direct escape routes, and would conduct hundreds of patrols, and have standing ambushes all over the place. Their aircraft and helicopters would fly all over the area - searching. Also, they would get onto your tracks - and chase you - running you down with teams and teams of fresh men, changing when they got tired so that they were always fresh while you got tired. Trying to force you into their ambushes in front of you, with stopper groups deployed at the sides to prevent you from escaping to the side.



One would have to survive such a situation, applying Escape and Evasion techniques - sometimes over hundreds of kilometres - running, lying up & hiding, passing stealthily through enemy positions, or staying in cover while they walked right over you, or entering into contact (a firefight) with enemy forces - never stopping, never sleeping, and never giving up.


If one of your colleagues was killed or wounded, you would carry him out with you. If you were all wounded, those who could still walk would carry those who could not.



If and when you managed to escape and get back over the border, you would rest up for a short period, and start all over again with another operation, time and time again, year in and year out.



This is what a Special Forces Reconnaissance operation entails. There are many and various other examples of reconnaissance tasks that are even more arduous than this example - which is a relatively standard example.

NOW ABOUT THE DEFENCE FORCE:

New and experimental technology is at the core of a multimillion-rand military exercise which is testing the state of readiness of the country’s defence force.

With thousands of South African soldiers, sailors, pilots and paratroopers taking part in the R20 million exercise, which has been three years in the planning, the country’s commander-in-chief, President Jacob Zuma, will know within weeks whether the defence can respond to a threat to South Africa’s sovereignty.

From across the country 4 000 defence force personnel, including mechanised infantry, airborne and maritime forces, tactical intelligence troops and special forces operatives have been gathering for Exercise Indlovu, which will culminate in a mock battle for the defence of Kimberley.

The Northern Cape and South Africa’s West Coast are the battlegrounds for the exercise.

With the maritime section of the exercise, involving the navy’s reaction force along with submariners and sailors, nearing completion, the army is now preparing for its role.

The exercise is simulating an attack by a foreign force on the mineral-rich city of Kimberley.

The exercise will, in the next 10 days, see vicious land battles playing themselves out at the SANDF’s combat training centre in Lohatla as paratroopers and ground forces respond to the attacks.

While the main battles will take place in the Northern Cape, it is in specially located military headquarters in Bloemfontein that the defence force’s new state-of-the-art and experimental command and control technology will be put to the test.

It is hoped that these command-and-control tests will reveal potential problems which could occur in real life situations.

Exercise co-ordinator Brigadier General Koos Liebenberg, speaking from aboard the SAS Drakensberg, one of the navy ships used in the maritime exercise, said all indications were that failing a political or diplomatic solution, the SANDF could respond to such a threat within two weeks.

“We have forces on standby all day every day. Something like this would not catch us by surprise because we know about any military build-up through our intelligence sources on the ground, media reports and other sources of information.

“When a threat like this is detected these standby forces are immediately activated and mobilised while diplomatic and political solutions are being sought.

“Exercises like this, which have been three years in the planning, are vital to ensuring that we know what to do when we need to do it and that we can carry out our tasks flawlessly,” he said.

Liebenberg said while the troops on the ground formed an important part of the exercise, the main focus was on the capabilities of command and control structures.

“A big effort has been placed on establishing a rhythm around headquarter capabilities.

“It is here that any gaps in command and control structures will be exposed and remedied,” he said.

Speaking about the new and experimental technology systems being tested, Liebenberg said they were aimed at improving communication systems between the battlefield and military headquarters.

“For battles to be won a number of critical requirements have to be met by these systems.

“These include communications systems which give us operational reports and minute-to-minute situational awareness maps which provide us with ‘full-time pictures’ of battles in our operation rooms.

“This exercise has been made as difficult as possible, with every possible scenario being thrown in to confuse, frustrate and force those in command and control to think as quickly and logically as possible,” he said.

“Ultimately R20 million is not a lot of money especially if it means that we can effectively defend the country’s sovereignty.

“The backbone for any defence is conventional warfare training. If we can establish this backbone we will with ease be able to switch over to non-conventional and asymmetrical warfare scenarios and situations such as these and others including peacekeeping and humanitarian missions.”

On t

ON THE ANC

Remember that the struggle against apartheid was fought by all progressive forces the world over with Africa playing a primary role with no single country that can claim sole responsibility of being the vanguard.

Nigeria is amongst the many however can be along the line of Angola that provided military equipment, facilities such as camps and military training to our freedom fighters and paid dearly for such a support, sustaining military invasion by apartheid South Africa and experiancing untold infrastuctural damaged that has cost not less than 1 Billion dollars including untold suffering in terms of human losses tha is nearly 500 000 over a period of 25 years.

Other countries that stood shoulder and shoulder with the ANC Freedom fighters and paid dearly were Mozambique whichexperianced civil war sponsored by the Apartheid government and lost nearly 350 000 people and massive economic set back which is felt until today. Southern Africa countries provided a backbone of support to the ANC and other South African liberation movements, Tanzania provided school, farms and houses, Zambia, provided houses, farms and the Headquarters of the ANC, Botswana provided refuge to those crossing to Zambia and also transiting to fight back home, Swaziland did the same including Lesotho. Namibia could not as it was under oppression.

Nigeria and other provided moral, financialsupportwhich E South African shall for ever cherished, But if truth needs to be told it was not a black mail to be used today

@Patriot ,yestarday's war were fought through trenches, massive numbers, lack of professional command and control systems, lack of equipment and mob psychology as a motivating factor and today and tomorrow's wars are and would be fought through excellent training, small professional teams, well equipped with latest technology, well resourced in terms of intelligence, good salary and coordinated system of command and control.

Hence many AFRICAN countries are revisiting their respective old and outdated doctrine into focussing on 21st Century threats which amongst is terrorism. I BELIEVE TO BE A GIANT ONE NEEDS TO BE VERY STRONG NOT IN TERMS OF NUMBERS BUT OF ECONOMY, EXCELLENT INFRASTRUCTURE, HEALTH FACILITIES, HOUSING, ELECTRICITY, EXCELLENT CONDITIONS OF WELL BEING.

Henry120:

@akwasi, the nigerian army carries a made in nigeria AKM, a mordernised version of the AKM. [b]The nigerian secret service user tarvor-21 and it is by far the best intelligence service in africa. [/b]What do you guys have in ghana?
@ thize, there is no doubt that the south-african military is the best in africa. nigerian military photo's are hard to find, but judging from defence budget @ 2-3 billion dollars over the years, only a small fraction of countries, lets sy 2 or 3 ( south africa, egypt) are better than nigeria. With this years security budget at over 6 billion dollars, you can't tell. The nigerian military has all the equipments shown in your photo's including made in nigeria APC's and a made in nigeria survillence drone ( amebo-1).

So using a Tar-21 automatically qualifies an intelligence organization as the best? Na wa o for some brains o.

Besides how can you honestly say that the defense budget which runs into a couple of billion $ yearly is used correctly and not siphoned away under over inflated contracts.

i didn't say using T-21 qualifies you as the best or one of the best . NO!!!! The nigerian secret service is one of the best in africa no doubt about that. I only highlighted the type of fire-arm they use.

Henry120:

i didn't say using T-21 qualifies you as the best or one of the best . NO!!!! The nigerian secret service is one of the best in africa no doubt about that. I only highlighted the type of fire-arm they use.

na im we no fit catch ordinary almajiri boko haram dem abi ? everyday SSS , Nigerian army and boko haram they play boju boju and police and thief , catch me today , i escape tomorrow .

@Thiza You are not a Nigerian so I don't even know what you are doing on this forum. Don't you have some South African forum you could post your pictures on ?

@ Patriot: I AM SO DISSAPOINTED BY YOUR SHALLOWNESS IN ADVANCING FACTS, Your anger indicates a lack in understanding the topic posted by the website, and personally I thought it was meant to stimulate debate across the African continent, I think it would be better that you notify the world that only @Patriot has got a monopoly on wisdom to discuss issues and cannot be told to the contrary, seems dictatorial tendencies and xenophobic attitude rules your mind.

NOW ON A SERIOUS NOTE:
First African Military Plane Designed And Made In South Africa

The first military aircraft designed and built by African companies was unveiled Tuesday by a South African arms company which said it had already received orders for the lightweight plane.

Ivor Ichikowitz, head of Johannesburg-based arms maker Paramount Group, called the plane a breakthrough, but experts said its simple design was similar to planes produced by other countries, and said it will have tough competition.

Ichikowitz said the AHRLAC plane can be used for peacekeeping missions and reconnaissance and is armed to defend itself.

He said he's received an order from a country he would not name for 50 of the planes, each costing about $10 million.

Paramount Group is one of Africa's largest military hardware producers and has markets in West Africa and the Middle East.

Ichikowitz, known for his flamboyance, revealed a life-size model of the aircraft at a South African arms factory. Beside the model of the plane stood two female models wearing flight suits and holding pilot helmets. The weapons were not mounted on the model.

Ichikowitz said everything on the plane is South African-made except for the engine. Local aircraft engineering company Aerosud partnered Paramount Group in the development of AHRLAC. The engine is made by U.S.-based jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney.

Production of the two-pilot aircraft will begin in late 2012.

He said their main target is the international market.

"Defence companies in this country rely on the (South African Air Force) and are battling," he said. "Even though the aircraft is made in Africa, it is not solely for the African market."

Defence analyst Siemon Wezeman of the independent Stockholm International Peace Research

SOUTH AFRICA HAS PRODUCED ITS FIRST MILITARY PLANE

Aerosud and the Paramount Group have unveiled a South African designed and developed light high-performance aircraft that it says could sell in the “hundreds or thousands” at a cost of less than US$10 million.

Paramount CE Ivor Ichikowitz expects the Advanced High-Performance Reconnaissance Light Aircraft (AHRLAC) to take the civil and military aviation market by storm, “challenging dominant Western manufacturers with its low acquisition cost, reduced requirement for maintenance support and extensive operational capabilities.”

Speaking at the launch, Ichikowitz added he expected production to start late next year or early in 2013 with the current facility able to build two to three aircraft a month. The two partners conservatively estimate that AHRLAC has the potential to generate annual revenue of up to
R4 billion.

Aerosud Managing Director Paul Potgieter says AHRLAC offers a highly flexible form of “clip-on-clip-off” payload system which enables it to be transformed quickly between operational roles. It can stay in the air for seven to 10 hours, making it the ideal solution for patrolling large land areas, borders and oceans. The two-crew aircraft can carry out a wide range of operations including surveillance, policing, border/coastal patrol and anti-smuggling; armed patrol and counter insurgency operations; disaster relief and emergency supply to remote areas; and intelligence gathering.

Potgieter says AHRLAC is special because it offers maximum platform flexibility for multi-role applications, from basic visual reconnaissance to advanced electronic surveillance, and intelligence, to armed patrol. “The design is modular so as to support maximum basic airframe commonality for the various configurations and rapid role change ability,” he says.

“AHRLAC is capable of rapid deployment and fast response times with high cruise and dash speed and extended range. Because of the operational simplicity of this aircraft, in times of need, we can get this thing on the road to areas where it is required with limited support assistance.”

Potgieter says key features of AHRLAC include its “push propeller” design and high wing for crew visibility, high cruise and dash speeds (maximum cruise speed is 300 knots), payload capacity of 800kg with full fuel and two crew, large operating range (1150 nautical miles on internal fuel) and Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) capability, including from semi-prepared landing strips, with a take-off distance 550m with full payload.

AHRLAC also has an armed patrol capability with 20mmm cannon, rocket pods and beyond visual range air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles such as the Denel Dynamics Mokopa or 70mm free-flight rockets across four to six wing hard points.

Ichikowitz expects AHRLAC to be a strong challenger to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). “With AHRLAC we provide a new, affordable, flexible and robust alternative to UAVs, opening new operational capabilities to a variety of new users,” says Ichikowitz.

Potgieter adds: “With AHRLAC we have developed a revolutionary aircraft that will maintain the dominant role of the pilot in civil and military flight. We believe that the pilot remains core to conducting effective air operations. In AHRLAC we have produced an aircraft that is, unlike most UAVs, both autonomously capable and offers high survivability, with none of the sub-systems costs related to the operation of UAVs.

“AHRLAC addresses the limitations of pilotless aircraft in a package which is flexible, reliable and offers excellent value for money. AHRLAC can go places and deliver missions, both civil and military, which a UAV simply cannot,” for reasons that includes current restrictions on UAV flights in controlled airspace.

The AHRLAC programme already includes a full scale concept development model, cockpit layout model, and experimental development model for extensive wind tunnel testing and refinement.

Ichikowitz argues that knowledge-based industrialisation that a project such as AHRLAC provides is essential to developing higher sustainable rates of economic growth, and therefore jobs. “Global experience proves that high-tech areas can multiply job creation in related sectors by up to eight times the number of people they employ. In addition, continued growth in engineering, design, technical and related trades means that we will be creating jobs at a high level.”

Thiza:

@ Patriot: I AM SO DISSAPOINTED BY YOUR SHALLOWNESS IN ADVANCING FACTS, Your anger indicates a lack in understanding the topic posted by the website, and personally I thought it was meant to stimulate debate across the African continent, I think it would be better that you notify the world that only @Patriot has got a monopoly on wisdom to discuss issues and cannot be told to the contrary, seems dictatorial tendencies and xenophobic attitude rules your mind.

NOW ON A SERIOUS NOTE:
First African Military Plane Designed And Made In South Africa

The first military aircraft designed and built by African companies was unveiled Tuesday by a South African arms company which said it had already received orders for the lightweight plane.

Ivor Ichikowitz, head of Johannesburg-based arms maker Paramount Group, called the plane a breakthrough, but experts said its simple design was similar to planes produced by other countries, and said it will have tough competition.

Ichikowitz said the AHRLAC plane can be used for peacekeeping missions and reconnaissance and is armed to defend itself.

He said he's received an order from a country he would not name for 50 of the planes, each costing about $10 million.

Paramount Group is one of Africa's largest military hardware producers and has markets in West Africa and the Middle East.

Ichikowitz, known for his flamboyance, revealed a life-size model of the aircraft at a South African arms factory. Beside the model of the plane stood two female models wearing flight suits and holding pilot helmets. The weapons were not mounted on the model.

Ichikowitz said everything on the plane is South African-made except for the engine. Local aircraft engineering company Aerosud partnered Paramount Group in the development of AHRLAC. The engine is made by U.S.-based jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney.

Production of the two-pilot aircraft will begin in late 2012.

He said their main target is the international market.

"Defence companies in this country rely on the (South African Air Force) and are battling," he said. "Even though the aircraft is made in Africa, it is not solely for the African market."

Defence analyst Siemon Wezeman of the independent Stockholm International Peace Research

No look, I love all my African brothers and in Nigeria like in all African countries everybody is proud of South Africa. And the whole continent stood with South Africa during the Apartheid. I am just angry with you because it doesn't seem you want to learn anything about Nigeria. You just come here with all your stereotypes and that is quite annoying. You have posted over thirty pictures which is even more annoying. Do you think we do not know what military equipment is ? Do you think we go to war with bows and arrows ?
I know we have some problems which are setting us back: the corruption of our government. But things are going better and i believe we will definitely take back our African crown. We produce very good brains but due to the lack of opportunity in Nigeria those brains end up in South Africa, Europe or America.( Actually I am one of them and I ended up in France. ) The corruption of our government is holding us back for now. But This can't last forever.
In the military field it is clear that South Africa has the biggest fire power but that doesn't make S.A army the best.
The three best armies in Africa are Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa. I think the only way to see who's best would be to do some war games or real wars. But I wouldn't bet on Egypt.
And look I am not xenophobic but I am sick and tired of people who just keep disrespecting Nigeria. Which African nation has ever helped Nigeria in anything ? But when other African nations are in need they always know where to find us. That is why I do not take it lightly when Nigeria is being disrespected.

patriot2:

No look, I love all my African brothers and in Nigeria like in all African countries everybody is proud of South Africa. And the whole continent stood with South Africa during the Apartheid. I am just angry with you because it doesn't seem you want to learn anything about Nigeria. You just come here with all your stereotypes and that is quite annoying. You have posted over thirty pictures which is even more annoying. Do you think we do not know what military equipment is ? Do you think we go to war with bows and arrows ?
I know we have some problems which are setting us back: the corruption of our government. But things are going better and i believe we will definitely take back our African crown. We produce very good brains but due to the lack of opportunity in Nigeria those brains end up in South Africa, Europe or America.( Actually I am one of them and I ended up in France. ) The corruption of our government is holding us back for now. But This can't last forever.
In the military field it is clear that South Africa has the biggest fire power but that doesn't make S.A army the best.
The three best armies in Africa are Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa. I think the only way to see who's best would be to do some war games or real wars. But I wouldn't bet on Egypt.
And look I am not xenophobic but I am sick and tired of people who just keep disrespecting Nigeria. Which African nation has ever helped Nigeria in anything ? But when other African nations are in need they always know where to find us. That is why I do not take it lightly when Nigeria is being disrespected.

@ Patriot i''m with u on this one, very well articulated

patriot2:

@Thiza You are not a Nigerian so I don't even know what you are doing on this forum. Don't you have some South African forum you could post your pictures on ?

Patriot, I will take it that you are joking on this one. The thread clearly asked who the best in Africa is and someone is using images to make claims. Is SA outside of Africa?

Henry120:

@akwasi, the nigerian army carries a made in nigeria AKM, a mordernised version of the AKM. The nigerian secret service user tarvor-21 and it is by far the best intelligence service in africa. What do you guys have in ghana?
@ thize, there is no doubt that the south-african military is the best in africa. nigerian military photo's are hard to find, but judging from defence budget @ 2-3 billion dollars over the years, only a small fraction of countries, lets sy 2 or 3 ( south africa, egypt) are better than nigeria. With this years security budget at over 6 billion dollars, you can't tell. The nigerian military has all the equipments shown in your photo's including made in nigeria APC's and a made in nigeria survillence drone ( amebo-1).

Ghana's army is almost non-existent. They may be the last in Africa if I am not wrong so shame on you for comparing it with that of "Mighty" Nigeria

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

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

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

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

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

comparing nigeria and south african military is like comparing a lion (south africa) with a hippo (nigeria)
lions kill hypos on a regular basis even tho hippos are bigger

The South African airforce

Elite Airforce section in aero display

South Arican Special Forces

Training for airforce pilots

South African produced helicopter that holds its own against US helicopters

South African Made Helicopter