₦airaland Forum

"The #Maatla has been manufactured on a commercial vehicle chassis which provides class-leading reliability and proven capability, while capable of addressing all types of its terrain for its nine-crew personnel. It further features “Smart Floor” technology, enabling the seating to be quickly removed and the vehicle to be configured as either an ambulance, command vehicle or customisable for alternative mission requirements, such as border patrol, military support, policing, or peacekeeping missions. Day/night vision devices and extra sensors can also be fitted to provide 24/7 operability." -via Paramount Group on Facebook.

South Africa sends 400 firefighters to fight wildfires in Canada

Pretoria -The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment will be sending 400 firefighters to Alberta, Canada to assist with firefighting and fire suppression efforts.

Canada has agreements to share firefighters with six other countries -- the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Mexico and Costa Rica.

The request for urgent assistance came from the Canadian Inter-agency Forest Fire Centre following an existing Memorandum of Understanding between Canada and South Africa which was signed in 2019.

This will be the fifth deployment since the the agreement was signed.


Alberta has already experienced more than 550 wildfires this season resulting in significant damage to property and infrastructure, and displacing thousands of people.

The department said the first 200 firefighters together with 15 managers will depart for Canada on a chartered aircraft from Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport on Saturday.

Another team of 200 firefighters and 13 managers will join the crew in Alberta in a week.

The team will be stationed in Canada for 35 days.

“I would like to extend my best wishes to the team as you embark on your deployment to Canada to help put out the fires raging in Alberta. You go to Canada to raise the South African flag and share your expertise and camaraderie with colleagues from other Canadian provinces to save lives, homes, businesses and large swathes of vegetation,” said the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy.

According to the department, the firefighters have more than three years’ firefighting experience and are physically fit.

The first 25% of the selected firefighters in the first deployment are women.

“We are proud of the fact that South Africa is again able to assist Canadian firefighting teams in their battle to bring the wildfires under control. The extensive experience and training of these firefighters will significantly enhance efforts to effectively suppress and manage the wildfires in Alberta,” said Creecy.

https://www.msn.com/en-za/news/other/south-africa-sends-400-firefighters-to-fight-wildfires-in-canada/ar-AA1c35fV

Odunayaw:
Nay, we ought to pamper vain imaginations at times

NATO need Africana flava!

...last.

GreenandGold, so we heard there was already snow in Lesotho. 8 of us decided that warrants a skiing cross-border trip. Instead of the usual Free State or KZN border crossing, we've decided to do it through the Eastern Cape Highlands.

What a revelation that has been (never thought I'd say that about the inland )!
Feast your eyes on the little border hamlet of Rhodes Village (pop. 700), with the border post an hour away.

Meanwhile, in Mozambique...

A study in contrasts: an SANDF company on long-range patrols during the dry season and the rainy season.

Flanker:
I see that some are still naive, NATO is a military organization which aims to establish its regional and global dominance. protect its areas of influence and their interests in all countries of the world.

NATO operations in Libya, Ivory Coast, irak , the troops deployed in Mali, in Niger, djibouti , in all africa are only there to protect the interests of large European and American companies and .to support the governments under their control and to threaten the countries which block their interests.

this AFRICOM since 2009 has been trying to build their headquarters in Africa, they have held discussions with Algeria, South Africa, Nigeria, Morocco.. all have refused the construction of this headquarters in Africa.

Louder, for the kids at the back!

DataCrab:
Bro why the fûck is that computer running windows 7 ? you've got to be fûcking kidding me

Thought nobody else had noticed!

...fin.

Meanwhile, in Mozambique...

A little goes a long way, Combat Team Alpha winning the hearts and minds of Macomia.
Since their arrival in July 2022, Combat Team Alpha has visited the Internally Displaced People camp in Xinavane on numerous occasions. The camp houses over 350 people, mostly families with young children, the camp structure is not considerable to house everyone, so families have made hamlets of white tents around the camp to accommodate themselves. These families come from surrounding villages within Cabo Delgado, where villages have been terrorised, rampaged and attacked by the Al Sunnah Wa Jamma insurgency group. The Internally Displaced People camp has become the focal point for the provision of Humanitarian assistance for Combat Team Alpha.

The presence of security and military forces in the Macomia Sede has resulted in the influx of internally displaced persons; this has however necessitated the Macomia district authorities to make provisions for the food insecurity and malnutrition. Internally Displaced People camps are often crucial for the displaced population in the intermediate term, they are not a tenable option when displacement becomes prolonged, and serious overcrowding becomes a challenge.

As a departing donation and act of goodwill, on Friday, 21 April 2023, Combat Team Alpha members delivered donated clothes to the women and men of the Internally Displaced People camp. For the children, funds raised from the generosity of the members purchased apparel and shoes.

Article by Lieutenant Commander N. Mhlongo and Photographs by Lieutenant Commander N. Mhlongo, Corporal M.B. Jabana and Corporal A.M. Monama || Joint Operations Division || Operational Communication.
DISCLAIMER || Permission was obtained for the children's photographs to be taken during Joint Operations Division activities, and they also agreed to their publishing on the SA National Defence Force's social media platforms.

Raeblack:
RUSSIAN WINGS: Zimbabwe has bought 18 Hansat helicopters from Russia (US$2.5M each), some for police, air force, medical evacuation and VIP Transport. Sanctioned Sergey Chemezov, head of Russia state arms firm, personally handed over the order to President Mnangagwa

This is a strange decision by Zimbabwe. This helicopter uses a Pratt & Whitney engine. P&W is now owned by the US giant, Raytheon, and as both Russia and Zimbabwe are under US sanctions, the OEM will not be able to service those engines.

...last.

Meanwhile, in Mozambique...

<quote>Members of Combat Team Alpha decided to adopt the EPA De Muagamula School,in their sector in Macomia District, Cabo Delgado, as part of their Civil-Military Co-ordination activities.
The members dug in their pockets and have committed to fixing the physical infrastructure, buying desks and learning materials, and establishing a vegetable garden.

Director of EPA De Muagamula School, Senhor Amade Abdala says the lack of adequate classroom space for the growing number of children means school directors and teachers need to improvise in order to cater to all learners attending; this particular school caters to 326 learners.</qoute>

Nigerian Armed Forces Command and Staff College Study Tour to the Republic of South Africa over the period 13 to 21 May 2023.
Chief Human Resource Development Major General M. Sitshongaye successfully hosted a visiting delegation of the Nigeria Armed Forces Command and Staff College to the Republic of South Africa, Department of Defence, over the period 13 -21 May 2023.
The delegation comprised forty-five (45) members led by Brigadier General Abiodun Adebayo Fadayiro as Head of Delegation.
The theme of the study was “Border Control and National Security in Africa”.
- via SANDF on Facebook

Hensoldt unveils new SA-developed interactive signal analysis software

Hensoldt used the Association of Old Crows (AOC) Europe conference and exhibition last week in Bonn, Germany, as an opportunity to launch its new SAS2000S Signal Savant signal analysis software, which was fully developed in South Africa by the company’s GEW business unit.

The SAS2000S is a standalone software solution that uses intuitive visual interfaces, allowing electronic warfare (EW) users the ability to analyse signals across the HF, V/UHF, and SHF bands whilst automatically processing these signals.

Hensoldt said the AOC conference provided “an ideal platform for Hensoldt to demonstrate its extensive experience in electromagnetic spectrum operations (EMSO) and showcase the latest in signal intelligence technology to the industry.”

“The SAS2000S Signal Savant offers a powerful combination of interactive and semi-automatic capabilities for signal analysis, classification, and decoding, using the latest technology in AI and building on a large base of core classification and decoder processing modules. It features advanced transmission codes for new-generation signals, allowing users to evaluate the latest single- and multi-signal scenarios effortlessly,” Hensoldt said.

“By reviewing current and past results, users gain a detailed understanding of the signal environment, allowing for the export of new signals into the decoder development toolkit or importing new decoders for customised processing.”

The SAS2000S is sensor and platform agnostic. Hensoldt’s collection of classic and modern decoder libraries are supported with periodic updates. The SAS2000S grants users the flexibility to customise spectrum and decoder development through the optional DecoderLab, empowering them to build and personalise their own decoders.

“The SAS2000S Signal Savant allows users to deep dive into the modern signal taxonomy and provide tools to process these fast-evolving signals,” said Wimpie van den berg, Land EW product portfolio executive at HENSOLDT.

“Signal intelligence (SIGINT) is a vital window into foreign adversaries’ capabilities, actions, and intentions and is an increasingly crucial component in intelligence operations. The SAS2000S represents a significant leap forward in communication signal analysis, classification, and decoding, using the latest technology in AI”, he added.

GEW, part of Hensoldt South Africa, is one of the leading players in the spectrum dominance industry in South Africa, having been active in the COMINT (communications intelligence) field since the 1960s. The company develops and manufactures strategic, semi-mobile and tactical systems, as well as airborne and ship-mounted systems, some of which include sophisticated electronic attack capability in addition to search, direction-finding and basic jamming capability. GEW’s signal intelligence and spectrum monitoring systems have been sold and are in operation in more than 30 countries worldwide, including with the South African Air Force, Army and Navy, and the spectrum regulatory body ICASA.

A more recent development has been jamming systems to protect fixed targets, convoys, individual vehicles and foot patrols (manpack system) against remotely controlled improvised explosive devices (RCIEDs), such as the roadside bombs encountered in Afghanistan and Iraq. GEW recently launched two new jammers: the GRJ8500 and GRJ6000 jammers covering the V/U/SHF and HF frequencies. The two new jammers join the existing GMJ9 multirole jammer, and GMJ900 and GMJ9000 man-portable multirole jammers.

GEW is also active in the fields of airspace surveillance and security systems, particularly perimeter and border fencing systems with integrated alerting systems to localise a breach. Such systems have been successfully used to counter wildlife poaching, amongst others.

Hensoldt South Africa/GEW is increasing its involvement in the radar, data link, identification friend or foe (IFF), customer services and business development fields, among many others, and this has been helped by the recent acquisition of Tellumat’s air traffic management and defence business units, which now form part of the company’s new Radar Business Unit. This offers 3D radar, synthetic aperture radar, radar for counter-UAV operations and passive radar. One of the biggest radar projects in South Africa in recent years is Hensoldt South Africa’s Quadome dual-mode, three-dimensional (3D), multi-mission naval radar for air and surface surveillance as well as target acquisition.

With more than 800 South African employees across five sites, Hensoldt South Africa is the Group’s largest industrial base outside of Europe and one of the largest defence and security electronics companies in South Africa. Hensoldt South Africa has a portfolio of more than sixty products and solutions, operational in more than 40 countries.

https://www.defenceweb.co.za/industry/industry-industry/hensoldt-unveils-new-sa-developed-interactive-signal-analysis-software/

Tinfoil:
www.adzuna.co.uk

https://www.adzuna.co.uk/jobs/details/4095390986

The EU is asking for people of N.African and M.E decent to go fight in Ukraine in exchange for citizenship and €20k

Stop insulting our intelligence by posting this crap!

Milkor selling 4 000+ grenade launchers amid strengthened market presence

As global tensions continue to rise in times of uncertainty, opportunities are emerging for defence manufacturers to take advantage of the global mindshift in defence procurement. One example is Milkor reporting a massive increase in orders for its multiple grenade launchers.

According to Armand Bodenstein, Business Development Director at Milkor, 2022 was the company’s best year out of the last six. “A lot of groundwork has been done over the past six years in demonstrating the superiority in quality and performance of the Milkor weapon systems when compared to competitors. These efforts are now proving to be fruitful with current confirmed orders for 2023 and 2024 surpassing 4 000 units of the flagship SuperSix MRGL across Africa, Asia, MENA, Europe and South America. These numbers exclude orders placed for other weapons systems Milkor has to offer.”

The SuperSix can fire low-velocity and medium-velocity rounds at ranges up to 800 metres. All six rounds can be fired in under three seconds.

The company’s latest evolution of its 40 mm weapon range includes the development of the Milkor MAR (Multiple Anti-Riot), a six shot less lethal grenade launcher for use by police and security forces, which is undergoing final qualification before demonstrations to end users in the third quarter of this year.

The company’s Centurion manufacturing facility increased production capacity to over 3 000 weapons towards the end of 2022 in order to meet its target of supplying 15 000 grenade launchers over the next five years. Additional allocations have been made to ramp up total production to 4 000 weapon systems per year, should the demand exceed current requirements.

Milkor’s land division has also started to make inroads on the market with some deliveries of the Milkor 4×4 taking place during the second half of 2023. Current requirements allowed Milkor to expand manufacturing capabilities and build stock in order to reduce delivery lead times.

Since debuting the Milkor 4×4 in 2018, the company has further developed the vehicle to suit end user requirements. The original vehicle was built with high ground clearance and high level offroad performance ideally suited to challenging African terrain. The vehicle’s operational capability has been expanded to deployment in the desert with the option of an inline central tyre inflation system and an upgraded cooling package. Multiple electronic sensors and remote-control weapons stations (RCWS), such as a 12.7 mm machinegun option, have been integrated. Milkor also offers an anti-riot version of its APC – the latter was deployed during the July 2021 unrest in South Africa.

Milkor has also started the development of a second product offering which it is looking to finish and qualify by December 2023.

Another flagship product Milkor has to offer is the Milkor 380 UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) which is currently undergoing testing, with planned demonstrations towards the end of the year to interested end users. The 18.6 metre wingspan UAV is the largest such aircraft to be developed in Africa. It has an endurance of up to 35 hours of flight time and a payload capacity of 210 kg, including various weapons and sensors.

“The interest and engagements with end users in different regions on the Milkor 380 has been integral in our development efforts as it has allowed us to develop the platform in such a way that it can be customized for existing end user requirements while also catering for future applications an end user might have. The current interest shown in the complete offering is proving positive and we look forward to demonstrating the capabilities of this product to end users towards the end of the year,” Bodenstein concluded.

Milkor’s growing product range is in line with its aim of becoming an established global leader in the defence industry, with a growing international presence. Milkor has opened offices in India, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. With the shifting geopolitical landscape, Milkor is well positioned to make the most of these changing conditions and is setting its sights on meeting new global defence demands.

https://www.defenceweb.co.za/editors-pick/milkor-selling-4-000-grenade-launchers-amid-strengthened-market-presence/

Paramount and Greece partner on N-Raven loitering munition production

Greek state-owned company Hellenic Defence Systems is partnering with global aerospace and technology company Paramount to produce the N-Raven long range loitering munition as the Irix.

The partnership was made public at DEFEA (Defence Exhibition Athens) 2023 this week.

The loitering munition system is called Irix after the word used by Greek poet Homer to describe hawks, and is poised to make history as the first loitering munition produced in Greece, Paramount said in a statement.

The agreement provides for the manufacture of internationally competitive long range loitering munitions in Greece, for the Greek market as well as export to international customers.

Leading Greek state-owned company, Hellenic Defence Systems (EAS), is a strategic partner to some of the largest companies in the international defence industry, with a 140 year-strong tradition of designing, developing, manufacturing and supplying the Hellenic Armed Forces with NATO-type defence systems. The Hellenic Ministry of Finance is the main shareholder and the company is supervised by the Ministry of National Defence.

Nikolaos Kostopoulos, EAS Chief Executive Officer said, “We are excited to be going into production – in Greece – with one of the world’s most advanced long range loitering munitions. In Paramount we found an ideal strategic partner, recognised as a pioneer in loitering munitions”.

“EAS and Paramount jointly developed an innovative and advanced product, specifically for the Greek market, called Irix. This is a lighthouse project for the redevelopment and enhancement of the Greek defence industry, which we are immensely proud of.”

IRIX is based on Paramount’s N-Raven unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology. The N-Raven is digitally designed with quick technology transfer in mind to enable government manufacture of loitering munitions technologies in own countries.

The partnership includes technology and skills transfer for local co-production of Irix as well as EAS’ ongoing participation in continued research and development (R&) of future Irix system upgrades.

Commenting on the venture, Steve Griessel, Paramount Global Chief Executive said: “We are privileged to be one of EAS’s global partners of choice, leveraging decades of unmanned aerial innovation and portable production expertise to jointly develop and produce Irix in Greece. At Paramount we believe true partnerships and innovation mean we design and produce technologically advanced, affordable and customisable solutions with our partners.”

The companies also announced involvement of other Greek companies in the supply chain for production of the system will be encouraged. This will see greater participation of and autonomy for the Greek defence industry.

IRIX, according to Paramount, is a robust yet cost effective unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and loitering munition system, designed to strengthen armed forces’ aerial reconnaissance, engagement and precision strike proficiencies, addressing modern requirements for asymmetrical and symmetrical warfare operational capability. The platform offers operational commanders real time actionable intelligence and from it, an ability to strike high-value targets deep in enemy territory or deny enemy use of operationally essential terrain.

Paramount Industries Greece Chief Executive George Kyriakos said: “The role of loitering munitions on the modern battlefield has steadily increased, as seen in recent conflicts all around the world. The socio-economic ramifications made ensuring security of supply of any nation’s defence technologies and capabilities a prerequisite to stability and growth”.

“The partnership between Paramount Industries Greece and Hellenic Defence Systems will provide a powerful solution to the growing need for advanced and precise loitering munitions, enhancing Greek as well as NATO and European defence capabilities. Importantly, it will boost our local industry creating high tech opportunities and skilled jobs in the local market,” according to Kyriakos.

https://www.defenceweb.co.za/aerospace/aerospace-aerospace/paramount-is-part-of-advanced-uav-production-technology-in-greece/

Stargate254:
What goals are these that EACRF is not pursuing? Did you ever read the EAC mandate to the regional force and observed that they were not following it?

EAC sent the regional force to try its best to settle the matter in a political peace process while protecting civilians this is exactly what it has been trying to do.. if all negotiations fail, this is when force would be used.
You have to remember that FIB under UN already militarily defeated M23 before... The few who were left went back to the trenches, regrouped, recruited more teens, got more supplies from outside and here we are again... So killing them clearly did not work. DRC needs to find a way to co-exist with its own people and both sides need to be honest about the peace process. [And this is what is lacking from both sides, and I would even say especially from the DRCs govt's side, I get the feeling that they don't want to make peace with M23 ... And they were hoping they could gorge the EACRF commander into breaking his own mandate and fight the rebels by instigating ceasefire violations near EACRF formations and blame them on the rebels, but he saw right through them..
----------

Here is a breakdown of EACRF mission for DRC . This was a speech given at beginning of the deployment.... The EACRF has only achieved ful deployment of all its contributing countries (with exception of Tz and Rwanda) just 2 weeks ago and you already want to label it a failed mission, really?




-_--

But since the DRC govt just wants war and nothing else, añd is threatening the EACRF, the regional force might be forced into cutting short their plans and go straight into fighting without exhausting all other peaceful avenues, knowing very well that real long lasting peace will never be achieved.

Thanks for responding to this. I'd meant to but forgot about it.

WTF happened here? Thank goodness the crew seems OK!

Stormtrooper11:
What's the third chopper name, please? It looks familiar

What Flanker said. An Airbus heavy chopper we had for a while, which didn't perform in our high and hot environment. And we had too few to be worthwhile adapting to suit our needs.
At the end of her service, she was assigned to coastal squadrons, mostly for fire-fighting.

GreenandGold:
I think we need to add to our Soviet inventory, the SADC region has been awfully quiet, too civilised

You say that like it's a bad thing?! DRC and Mozambique not too quiet. DRC not really SADC, but we were instrumental in their admission, way back under Mbeki when we knew what we were doing.

Flanker:
The mi 24 A in last pic was donated by algerian air force to Swartkop Museum

c/n 4202034 , former SU 97 on algerian AF

Thanks for that. The info, that is.
We Saffers see anything Soviet in our possession and we can't help feeling all warm and fuzzy about how their trucks kept losing things!

Your last pic, is that what it looked like when it arrived? If so, Swartkop Museum has done a great job restoring her.

...last.

...5...

...4...

...3...

...2...

GreenandGold:
However, if I was aware of it, I was definitely going to stay longer for it.

Looking at all the photos and videos, looks like you should have stayed longer...

GreenandGold:
If well-planned and well-attended, they can make your weekend worth remembering... like the last one I attended

The Swartkop Museum has some really great aircraft! I find their chopper section interesting.
And look what fell off a Soviet truck in Angola!