₦airaland Forum

@AUGUSTUS HAS BEEN DEFEATED MANY TIMES ON THIS FORUM AND STILL CANNOT ADMIT AND WILL NOT ADMIT......QUESTION SHOW QUALITY ARMAMENTS PRODUCE BY NIGERIA.....G5&6 CARRIES A SOUTH AFRICAN LABEL, ROOIVALK CARRIES A SOUTH AFRICAN MARK AND SHOW NIGERIAN LABEL

Adamawa State Governor Bala Ngilary says Boko Haram insurgents have overrun five local government areas of the state.

He said this in an interview with State House journalists today after the flag-off ceremony of the National Power Sector Apprenticeship Scheme (NAPSAS) held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Ngilari, who lamented that terrorist attacks had become a very big challenge for his state, asked the Federal Government to deplore more troops there.

Describing the security situation in the state as very daisy and worrisome, the governor said though his administration was trying its best to manage it, a lot of interventions were needed.

@AUGUSTUS YOU KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT SOUTH AFRICAN ARMAMENT INDUSTRY AND ITS CAPABILITY....ANYWAY WHY WASTE TIME ARGUING WITH A PERSON WHO IS THE VICTIM OF HIS IMAGINATION....WHERE ARE THE GIRLS? WHERE IS SHEKAU? LYING DRIVEL

I hope the following information would bring to an end the misinformed debate about ROOIVALK being 90% French unless you lack comprehensive information relating to the subject at hand....REMEMBER SOUTH AFRICAN DO NOT TELL LIES AND CLAIM EASY VICTORIES

The Rooivalk was born from a need of the South African Airforce to field a capable attack helicopter. Atlas Arms Company ( Before becoming DENEL) produce the first HX-1 Alpha designed to which it serve the comapny well in terms of developmental research. The HX-1 was was based highly on French made- Aerospatiale Alouette III system, though hardly a dedicated attack platform and still utilizing 1960's technology. HX-1 started testing flights in 1986 folowed by two converted XTP-1 Beta gunship in the form of Aerospatiale SA 300 Pumas ( production version of the Rooivalk would indeed feature the SA 300 transmittion and rotor system), designed at the outset as test beds.

Utilising information gained from both test, designs were being drawn up for the ROOIVALK as early as 1984 with initial flyable XH-2 Rooivalk getting airborne by 1990.

Hometown of Nigeria’s Defense Boss, Overrun By Boko Haram; Humanitarian Tragedy Evolving

In one of the worst ironies concerning the insecurity in Nigeria, Vimtin, the Adamawa State ho
metown of Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshall Alex Badeh, was attacked by Boko Haram militants on Thursday. The apparently confident fighters paid a courtesy call of sorts at the home, suggesting they knew exactly where they were and what they were doing.

“They attacked Vimtim [on Thursday morning] and they went straight to the Chief of Defence Staff’s house,” John Kwale Vimtim, a former chairman of the Mubi North Local Government, told BBC Hausa radio yesterday.

But he said the militants did not kill or attack anyone at Air Marshall Badeh’s home, perhaps because it was empty. “All the people of Vimtim had already deserted the town,” John Kwale said, following news of Boko Haram’s exploits on Mubi, Adamawa’s second-largest town.

Vimtim is about 15 kilometres from Mubi. Daily Trust reported it was told that hundreds of Boko Haram fighters took over the village.

It would be recalled that early SaharaReporters reports from the onslaught on Mubi indicated that Nigerian soldiers fled the area along with civilians. Markets were reported to have been burnt down, banks looted and the palace of the Emir of Mubi occupied. Later on, military authorities said the fleeing troops were being ordered back to retake the town.

One local source who fled Mubi also said that the “withdrawal” of soldiers from the area on Wednesday was designed to give Air Force jets freedom to engage the insurgents from the air.

Daily Trust also said, quoting military sources, reinforcements were being sent to the state through the Yola airport in an effort to push back the attackers.

The newspaper said the militants had continued to tighten their grip on the town, forcing thousands of people to flee to other parts of Adamawa State.

Below is the rest of the newspaper’s report:

The insurgents marched on the state’s second-largest town on Wednesday, driving in about 14 trucks.

Mubi, a commercial hub, is home to about 151,000 people, according to the 2006 census.

Witnesses said Boko Haram fighters yesterday went round some streets, proclaiming a new government based on Islamic law. They told people to cooperate with the new regime.

The militants also engaged in killings, looting and arson. They set the main market on fire, looted banks, and occupied the palace of the Emir of Mubi.

A resident said they broke into the home of the District Head of Mubi, Alhaji Yarima Bello, and beheaded his son, Ibrahim, a judiciary staff.

Mubi market association chairman, Alhaji Abdulkadir Musa, told Daily Trust by telephone that the assailants set fire to sections of the market and looted some shops.

“The boys set ablaze shops dealing in secondhand clothes and looted others,” he said.

Musa said fleeing residents were dispossessed of their cellphone SIM cards before being allowed to leave.

“They blocked the road at Buladega, urging people not to leave, that they were not going to be attacked. They did not stop anyone from leaving, but collected peoples’ phones and removed the SIM cards,” he said.

A witness told Daily Trust that a Boko Haram militant mocked residents over their reliance on security forces for protection, saying the insurgents seized the town without much resistance.

“They have been rather boastful,” the man said by telephone from outside Mubi.

“A commander bragged that very soon they are taking Yola with the ease they captured Mubi and that government purchased weapons at high cost only for them to seize the arms.”

He said most of low-ranking insurgents he saw are teenagers.

“I just left the town, these Boko Haram boys cannot withstand a determined battalion of trained soldiers,” he said.

“Most of them are carrying AK 47. Some use rocket launchers but they do not have the type of armoured vehicles our soldiers deployed recently.”

Scared residents have been trooping out of the town since Wednesday. Thousands trekked in different directions yesterday, fearing for their lives.

Many people have been stranded in the bush along Mubi-Maiha-Pella road, with others crossing into Cameroon through the border town of Dumo. The border is about 30 kilometres from Mubi.

“I passed by at least 6,000 people including the sick with bandages and plasters to their arms and legs, all of them trekking to Maiha, some left through Gyala,” a village chief told Daily Trust.

“Some were heading for Cameroon through Dumo; it is pathetic. Please let our leaders act.”

James Audu, a student, told Reuters news agency: “I saw many dead bodies in the bush and many injured people were lying helpless especially children and women. They killed a lecturer and his entire family. I saw them get shot (in Mubi).”

Stephen Adaji, also a student, said he had been hiding in the bush since mid-morning on Wednesday when the fighting began until a farmer helped him cross to a nearby village and he fled to the nearest city of Yola.

“We couldn’t sleep in the bush because of the fear Boko Haram may get us,” he said. “We were so scared, shooting was going on throughout the night.”

Daily Trust learnt that hundreds of soldiers who fled Mubi have converged at a town about 60 kilometers away, with dozens of vans and many armoured vehicles.

The soldiers manned check points in the area with fleeing residents complaining that the checkpoints delay them unnecessarily.

Many people who fled Mubi on Wednesday were yet to reach Yola by yesterday evening, as only those who left in their personal cars or were picked up by trucks conveying cattle made it.

Many children separated from their parents during the stampede that followed the Boko Haram attack on Wednesday.

A man at the NYSC Orientation camp in Girei said he separated from his 14-year old younger sister, his elder brother and sister in-law when an explosive narrowly missed their vehicle, forcing them to stop and ran in different directions.

“I was able to make contact with my brother who is still in the bush but none of us heard about the girl. I hope she did not run back to Mubi. My prayer is she escaped with other people to the bush,” he said.

Another displaced man, Abdullahi Alai, said he did not know the whereabouts of his two sons and wife after fleeing when Boko Haram struck.

He said he fled Mubi in his car around 6pm Wednesday and drove overnight to Yola. He said thousands of worn-out people made brief stop-overs at different villages to beg for food before resuming their trek towards the state capital.

Adamu Mohammed, who also fled to Yola yesterday, said hundreds of people trekked to Hong, over 50 kilometres away. “The entire road was covered by human beings, herding out to Hong, like a group of sheep,” he said.

Our correspondent reported that the number of displaced people at the NYSC camp in Yola has surged as people from Mubi file in to register.

Executive Secretary of the state emergency agency ADSEMA, Haruna Furo, said hundreds of people were registered at the camp over the past 24 hours. The number of people at the camp stands at 6,800 as at yesterday.

A spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the North-East, Abdul Ibrahim, told Reuters the agency had sent extra personnel to help manage people fleeing to Yola.

He said an attack on Uba just hours before the one on Mubi on Wednesday had forced 4,000 people who were in a displaced persons camp to vacate the camp and head for Yola.

Nigeria Detains Military Commanders For Abandoning Mubi To Boko Haram

Five military commanders have been handcuffed and detained at the military police guard room at the 23 Brigade headquarters in Yola Adamawa state for abandoning Mubi in Adamawa state to Boko Haram militants last Wednesday.

The commander whose names and ranks were given as Colonel Ibrahim, Lt. Colonel Magaji and three others abandoned the 213 Brigade headquarters a few minutes after Boko Haram militants reached Mararaba and Hildi on the outskirts of Mubi.

Defense officials in Abuja had told Saharareporters that investigations were ongoing as to the cause of abandonment of the battle front by the commanders.

Another set of commanders from the 234 Brigade are expected to be detained by the military authorities as soon as they leave the MRS Hospital in Yola in a day or two according our sources.

The team includes Lt. Col O.A Agwu and his lieutenants. They equally fled the battle scene in Mubi and allowed Boko Haram militants to take the town with resistance. However, Lt. Col Agwu’s pick up van somersaulted twice and crashed injuring him and his lieutenants as they fled Mubi.

Mubi had three army battalions comprising of the "234 Brigade, the 213 Brigade and the 21 Support Group" when it fell to militants last Thursday. The soldiers fled alongside civilians to neighboring villages in Nigeria and Cameroon. A Punch newspaper report today claims that over 300 soldiers fled to Cameroon.

SaharaReporters could confirm that the rest of the soldiers are in "MIA" mode in Song Adamawa state where they await further orders to act against Boko Haram.

Some 24 hours after Nigerian soldiers from the 234 battalion fled Mubi, Adamawa State as Islamist fighters advanced, the Defense Headquarters in Abuja has ordered the troops to return and retake the town from the militants. SaharaReporters was first to report yesterday that Islamist terrorists fighting under the banner of Boko Haram had captured the strategically important town of Mubi from Nigerian troops who were so overwhelmed by the insurgents’ firepower that they abandoned their barracks and weaponry as they fled.

A military source in Abuja told SaharaReporters this morning that the embarrassing retreat had infuriated the Chief of Defense Staff, Alex Badeh, whose hometown, Vimtim, is now less than 15 miles from the location of the insurgents.

Yesterday’s daring attack by the Boko Haram militants marked the first time in more than two months that the insurgents were able to send Nigerian soldiers fleeing. Before yesterday’s attack, Nigerian troops had scored a series of decisive triumphs over the insurgents, killing hundreds of them, capturing their weaponry and vehicles, and repelling their attempts to grab more territory in Adamawa or Borno States.

But military sources confirmed to us yesterday that Boko Haram militants were able to sweep into Mubi yesterday with little or no resistance from Nigerian troops based in the town. Newspaper accounts disclose that the militants have since bombed a prison yard and a major police facility in the town.

Our military sources said the insurgents had taken over the headquarters of the former Special Operations Battalion (SOB) now known as the 234 Battalion. One source said military authorities in Abuja were particularly nervous about the insurgents’ capture of the barracks because the retreating soldiers left behind a huge cache of sophisticated weapons kept at the armory in Mubi. “With the weapons in their possession, these militants can pose a serious threat to many other parts of the state and beyond,” a military officer told SaharaReporters.

One of our sources at Defense headquarters disclosed that some 300 soldiers who fled yesterday have now been ordered to converge at Song, a small township directly commanded by Brigadier Agbarefe, the Brigade Commander from the 213 Brigade in Yola. The troops are backed by two armored tanks and a few anti-personnel carriers (APCs) as they await final orders to march on Mubi to confront the insurgents and try to dislodge them.

Our source added that there was no aerial cover planned for the moment, but that the troops would proceed regardless.

The troops will be without their Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel O. A. Agu and 234 Battalion Adjutant, Captain S.O Faseyi who were both injured yesterday when the pick up van they were fleeing in somersaulted several times.

Several soldiers in the battalion said morale was low, adding that their equipment were hardly adequate for the assignment to flush out the insurgents from Mubi.

However, a military source in Abuja denied the depiction of troop morale and equipment, insisting that the soldiers were well prepared and adequately armed to carry out the order to recapture Mubi. He said an additional brigade had been mobilized to provide additional firepower.

Nine serving Generals in the Nigerian Army and other senior military officers are now under investigation for their alleged role in the sale of arms to members of the Boko Haram sect.

They are also fingered in the movement of weapons and Army armouries in some northern states, according to a report Nigerian Pilot.

The paper quoted an unnamed top security chief as confirming to it yesterday that the military authorities had made progress in the investigation of the affected Army officers, adding that they would soon be court-martialed.

The source reportedly attributed the delay in their arraignment before a military court to the concentration of activities on how to rescue the abducted schoolgirls from Chibok, Borno State, by Boko Haram sect.

According to the source, some detained Boko Haram suspects allegedly named the Generals and other military officers as supplying them arms, Nigerian Pilot said.

“He explained that the military High Command would only make the matter public after concluding its internal checks to ensure that there are no loose ends,” the paper said, adding:

“The security chief said that the Nigerian Army, headed by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Kenneth Minimah, in conjunction with other military top brass was working tirelessly to sanitise the armed forces and fish out collaborators with insurgents.”

The source, according to the report, hinted that the Army Chief had been briefed on the Generals’ arms deals with the insurgents, adding that “he (Army Chief) is currently carrying out a secret and independent investigation on the matter.”

Continuing, Nigerian Pilot said: “A few months ago, a soldier had told a foreign news agency that some top military chiefs were colluding with Boko Haram sect in their raging offensive in the North-East.

“In a swift reaction, The Defence Headquarters described the allegations as grave and promised to investigate the claims. The outcome of the probe is yet to be made public by the authorities as well as the names of the affected Generals.

“The insurgents operate with local and sophisticated weapons such as Improvised Explosives Devices, IEDs, AK-47rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars.

“A United States, US Network TV, NBC, recently reported that most of the terror group’s weapons were either stolen from Nigerian military stocks or purchased from the thriving Central African arms black market.”

Army Col, 10 officers set Nigerian tankers ablaze

There were shocking revelations at the weekend that an Army Colonel, some junior officers and soldiers who were taking part in the military offensive to reclaim communities taken over by the Boko Haram terrorists in Adamawa State, have been arrested for sabotage.

Top military sources said that the colonel (a Muslim) who was Commanding a team of three Armoured Personnel Carriers, APC’s, with the capability to fire up to a range of 1.5kilometres or even more, had instead of pursuing the terrorists, deliberately set the APCs on fire between Gulak and Madagali, before running away with his team of soldiers into the bush.

Saturday Vanguard gathered that the Army authorities were outraged over the development and ordered the arrest of both the commander, the junior officers as well as the soldiers under his command.

Narrating how the ‘’embarrassing incident occurred,’’ a source who was privy to the development noted that until the latest development, the Special Forces of the Nigerian Army who commenced the putsch to rout Boko Haram terrorists from Bazza, Michika, Gulak and Madagali from Vimtim, had successfully dealt with, and inflicted heavy casualties on the terrorists up till Gulak.

It was said that between Gulak and Madagali, the Colonel who had all along been prided with air surveillance reports, was again informed that Boko Haram terrorists were approaching his team in six Toyota Hilux Pick Up vans from the Madagali axis.

“However, rather than blasting and taking out the terrorists in their pick-up vans; he ordered his soldiers to jump out of the APC’s and set the armoured tanks on fire, without realising that he was being monitored. This was shocking because the terrorists were armed with weaponry which were grossly inferior to the firepower of the Nigerian Army Amoured tanks. After accomplishing the sabotage act, the Colonel and the junior officers and soldiers ran away into the bush, claiming that they were overpowered by a better armed group of Boko Haram terrorists,’’ Saturday Vanguard was told.

Military sources said that the action of the Colonel and soldiers under his command had given vent to the disclosure by the top hierarchy of the military that there were so many fifth columnists in the military working against the country’s determination to flush out Boko Haram terrorists in the land.

Consequently, Saturday Vanguard was told that a Board of Inquiry, BoI, had been set up by the Army authorities to investigate the Colonel and his soldiers after which a Military Court Martial would be set up to try them for conspiracy, treason and willful sabotage among others.

Also speaking on the development, a senior officer confided in Saturday Vanguard thus, “You can now see why the Military Court Martial which is currently sitting is inevitable. The uninformed would feel that soldiers who are fighting the nation’s battle are being unjustly punished. But the truth is that many of them are sabotaging Nigeria and making the insurgents look formidable for reasons that cannot be explained. Some of them appear sympathetic to the insurgents.

“How can it be explained that several APCs that cost up to $1million each in some cases or more will be willfully destroyed by Commissioned Officers, COs, who swore to defend the territorial integrity of their nation, just to help terrorists? That is treason of the highest order.”

The source added that the new vigour and determination with which Nigerian troops had been prosecuting the war, resulting in the killing of several commanders of the sect as well as hundreds of the insurgents, was the fallout of the new position of the military high command to deal with those pursuing a different agenda from that of the Federal Government.

The Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh said last week that the death penalty imposed on the 12 soldiers who were tried for treason was lawful and in accordance with military dictates. He spoke at a three-day conference organised by the National Security Adviser in collaboration with Trim Communication Nigeria Ltd on Media/Security relationship in crisis management.

According to him, “The day you join the military you have signed off, whether life or death, and it is obey before complaint. How can a soldier just jump out of the APC because you want to donate APC to Boko Haram; and somebody is there talking about constructive mutiny.

“The laws are there, if you run away from the enemy, you will die and that is what the military law says. Apart from the old Nigerian law, we abide by the military law. Nobody forces or conscripts anybody into the military. It is a voluntary service, and so if we have this type of challenge, you should be able to confront it and not to run away.”

– www.vanguardngr.com

SOUTH AFRICA IS NOT A BANANA REPUBLIC

NOT ONE VEHICLE BUT TENS AND TENS OF DIFFERENT VARIATIONS

NIGERIANS MUST LEARN FIRST TO FIX ITS INFRASTRUCTURE BEFORE COMAPARING TO SOUTH AFRICA. SOUTH AFRICA IS A 1 000 YEARS AHEAD OF NIGERIA

NO COMPARISON WITH ANYTHING PRODUCED IN NIGERIA

SOUTH AFRICAN MADE COMPARE WITH IGIRIRIRIRI

Residents of Ashaka, the factory site of the popular Ashaka Cement Plc, in Gombe State, revealed that the suspected Boko Haram terrorists group, who carried out a deadly operation on the village on Tuesday, went away with dynamites fully loaded in eight Toyota Hilux Vehicles.

The terrorist group had on Tuesday launched attacks on the border towns of Nafada and Ashaka in Funakaye Local Government Area of Gombe State as well as Ngalda and Fika towns in Fika Local Government Area of Yobe State.

The attacks claimed scores of lives in both Nafada and Fika, in Gombe and Yobe states, respectively.

Some Ashaka residents said that the insurgents after taken control of the company and the town, gathered the residents together and preached their strange brand of Islamic ideology to them.

They also promised the people that they were not in the area to hurt anyone.

“Yes, the group came here without killing anybody but they went away with eight Toyota Hilux belonging to Ashaka Cement Plc which they fully loaded with dynamites taken from the production site of the company after preaching their beliefs to the residents,” a resident said.

He added that the Hilux vehicles were the property of the company.

Also, a security source, who did not want to be mentioned, told journalists on Wednesday that seven travellers along the Gombe-Potiskum highway were killed around Fika town by the insurgents.

He said that the killing of the seven came moments after a popular religious cleric and three of his apprentices were killed in Nafada on the Gombe/Yobe border.

The Police Public Relations Officer Gombe Command, Mr. Fwaje Atajiri, who confirmed the raid of the area, said the unknown gunmen torched the police station, the local government and the Peoples Democratic Party’s secretariats in Nafada town.

Atajiri said that their efforts to enter Bajoga the headquarters of Funakaye Local Government Area were repelled by security forces.

He also said the security operatives were not aware that dynamites were taken away by the insurgents, but revealed that the command had commenced investigations into the attack, promising to address the media on the situation at a later day.

He however confirmed that a cleric and three others were killed in Nafada while a police man who was wounded during the raid had been taken to an undisclosed hospital in the state for treatment.

“I can confirm the attack on the two Local Government Areas of the state. The number of casualty is four while a police man was injured during the attack and he is being treated. Our team of investigators have commenced inquiry on the attack and I can assure you the media will be adequately briefed as things unfold,” the PPRO told journalists.

But the management of the cement company on Wednesday announced that normalcy had returned to the Ashakacem plant after insurgents entered the plant on Tuesday afternoon.

The cement firm in a statement issued by the Country Communications Director, Lafarge Africa Plc, Viola Graham-Douglas, said, “Ashakacem, which is located in Gombe State in the northeastern region of Nigeria, was the target of an intrusion by people who were strangers to the plant. However, the situation has now stabilised and there is no report of any injury to employees or damage to the plant.”

Ashaka is located in Funakaye Local Government Area of Gombe State.

Tuesday’s attack of Ashaka by the insurgents is the second, as the dreaded sect members had carried out an attack on some financial institutions in the town in 2012.

Meanwhile, the International Committee on Red Cross has lamented difficult conditions of 50,000 Nigerians, who were displaced by the Boko Haram’s attacks.

The ICRC, in a statement on its website on Wednesday , said the committee had launched an emergency operation after assessing conditions of the displaced people.

In the statement, the Head of its delegation in Nigeria, Karl Mattali, said that the Nigerian Red Cross Society had completed the distribution of food and household essentials “to over 50,000 people living in extremely difficult conditions.”

South Africans please understand the mental functionality of the Nigerians....When Nigerians says good morning run outside to confirm whether its true....Nigerian Military and the entire government has been lying for almost 4 years of the war without taking any responsibility of their actions.

LIE #1
They have killed Shekau 4 times...making Shekau invincible.

LIE#2
They have destroyed BH athousand times and every second week BH resurfaces.

LIE#3
Nearly 5 times having talks to BH about release of the girls and the response by BH has been humiliation of the Nigerian government by denying the talks ever taking place.

SANDF

South Africa’s defence intelligence community is still on track to acquire a military satellite at a cost of over R1 billion.

SOUTH AFRICAN TSUNAMI AND NO COUNTRY IN AFRICA CAN COMPETE WITH THESE PRODUCTS

Specialist rifle company Truvelo Armoury is busy working on two new rifles, is upgrading its existing range and will launch a new marketing and sales company.

Alexa Gerrard, Head: Sales and Marketing at Truvelo, revealed that two new rifles were under development but declined to provide further details at this stage. She also confirmed to defenceWeb that Truvelo is the main subcomponent supplier to Braddick Defence Systems and that Braddick is busy developing .338 rifles based on Truvelo’s barrel action subassemblies.

Truvelo Armoury, part of Truvelo Manufacturers established in 1974, began manufacturing barrels and rifles in 1994. The company currently fields anti-material rifles (AMRs) in four calibres, including 12.7 x 99 mm, 14.5 x 114 mm, 20 x 82 mm and 20 x 110 mm Hispano. Truvelo’s anti-personnel rifle (APR) series is available in 7.62 x 51 mm and .338 Lapua calibres.

EXCELLENT PRODUCT FROM NAMIBIA

Namibian company Windhoeker Maschinenfabrik (WMF) has unveiled its new Mk III mine-protected armoured personnel carrier, which will enter production in January next year.

The vehicle made its public debut at the Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) show last month, alongside the exhibition debut of WMF’s Marrua 4x4. WMF partnered with Brazil’s Agrale to assemble Agrale vehicles in 2011.

Brigadier General (Rtd) J V Auala, CEO of the Ministry of Defence’s August 26 Holding Company, of which WMF is a subsidiary, said the Mk III vehicle is relatively light and thus versatile and was developed in response to requests for a lighter armoured vehicle. Development began less than a year ago. The Mk III is currently undergoing trials ahead of production beginning in January 2015. It has yet to be given an official name other than the Mk III.

South African aerospace companies Denel Aerostructures (DAe) and Denel Aviation, both part of the State-owned Denel Group, have unveiled a major new project – the South African Regional Aircraft (SARA). This is aimed at meeting a gap in the global market, preserving South Africa’s aerospace design and development capabilities, while also stimulating the country’s young aerospace engineers and technicians.

This year’s edition of Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) was move varied in terms of participation, with South African exhibitors appearing to outshine their foreign counterparts.

Compared to AAD 2012, 2014 was noticeably lighter regarding foreign exhibitors’ physical presence. All the big players (Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Airbus etc.) attended the September 17-21 exhibition at Air Force Base Waterkloof, but there were no aircraft or vehicles brought out specifically for the show as there was in 2012 and previous editions, and there were generally more models on display than real items of equipment. For example, in 2012 Saab flew their 340 MSA to Pretoria for AAD and Alenia their C-27J Spartan but this year they were only there on paper.

This trend was also evident during the air show days over the weekend, which were spectacular nevertheless, especially with the newly formed Hawk aerobatic display team. Some of the highlights included Mango and Kulula flypasts, Gripen, Vampire and Cheetah fast jets, an anti-poaching demonstration, mini-war and amazing helicopter displays by Dennis Kenyon. However, some show-goers were disappointed by the lack of foreign military aircraft flying – in 2012 the C-27J and Zimbabwe Air Force K-8 put on impressive displays for the crowds. This year the US Air Force brought military aircraft (C-17, C-130J) but these remained on static display.

It seems the main reason for the somewhat lacklustre foreign presence is the malnourished local defence market and the long wait for orders from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). On paper, South Africa is acquiring tens of billions of rands worth of new military equipment in various projects such as Biro (offshore/inshore patrol vessels), Metsi/Kiepie (maritime patrol/light transport aircraft), Hotel (hydrographic vessel), Sepula and Vistula (armoured vehicles and trucks). Many of these projects, particularly Biro and Saucepan (as the maritime surveillance project was called), attracted many foreign companies to AAD 2012. However, South African National Defence Force programmes appear to take a long time to reach fruition – the decade taken by the Badger infantry fighting vehicle is one example.

Overall the international presence at this year’s exhibition was somewhat light, but nevertheless, even with an extra hangar, exhibition space at AAD 2014 was sold out, with 40 companies being turned away due to a lack of space.

South African aerospace, maritime, vehicle and defence companies stole most of the limelight at AAD 2014. Paramount, as usual, outdid itself, launching new unmanned aerial vehicles, signing a cooperation agreement with Boeing and formalising their recent acquisitions of Aerosud Aerospace Systems and Veecraft Marine. Their nine metre high Parabot was a major crowd pleaser, probably being the most photographed item at AFB Waterkloof. Another highlight was the exhibition debut of the AHRLAC, which flew into the base during the opening ceremony on 17 September.

Not to be outdone, Denel had a strong presence as well, launching a new light turret, unveiling the design for a new regional aircraft (SARA), announcing the establishment of an aviation training centre and displaying its wide range of equipment on offer, from the new Seeker 400 to the Marlin missile.

Other South African companies were eager to show off their new products and services, such as Wagtail Aviation with its new autogyros, S-Plane with its UAV control systems, Megaray with upgraded spotlights, Safomar with a variety of helicopters, the CSIR with a new airborne testing pod, Tellumat with UAV control units, Rippel Effect with its new less lethal grenade launcher etc.

A fair number of new landward defence products were unveiled at AAD 2014, such as the BAE Systems Land Systems South Africa RG21 protected vehicle, DCD Protected Mobility Oribi utility truck and Testudo unmanned ground vehicle, Windhoeker Maschinenfabrik Werewolf Mk III armoured personnel carrier and B-Cat’s unmanned ground vehicle. Osprea Logistics displayed two versions of its Mamba Mk 5 while LMT had its new Phoenix and Trojan armoured vehicles on display.

When opening AAD 2014, defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said she anticipated nearly 50 000 trade visitors to attend the exhibition. However, most exhibitors who spoke to defenceWeb agreed that this year was quieter in terms of numbers, but many said they were impressed by the quality of foreign military delegations attending the show. At the time of publication, no final attendance figures had been released by the South African Aerospace Maritime and Defence (AMD) industry association, which was tasked with organising AAD 2014.

AMD came under fire for some aspects of poor organisation, such as delays in approving accreditation, an almost empty media centre. Some exhibitors were placed in the half-empty media centre hangar, which meant that almost no-one passed through – one exhibitor in the hangar told defenceWeb that only four people came to his stand on day one of the show. In comparison, thousands walked through the Denel and Paramount hangar every day.

Overall, AAD again reinforced the fact that the local defence market is a tough place to do business in, with the SANDF struggling to find the funding it needs to replace ageing equipment. Although the Defence Review offers much hope, it is taking a long time to be approved. Previously the 2012 Defence Review, it has been renamed the 2014 Defence Review to reflect the long road to fruition. Faced with the slowly turning wheels of government and limited budgets at home, AAD again reflected how local companies are courting foreign clients and being forced to turn outside South Africa’s borders for survival.

Specialist simulator company ThoroughTec will be supplying simulators for four versions of the South African Army’s new Badger infantry fighting vehicles.

ThoroughTec has provided Patria driver training systems for Sweden and Croatia, giving it useful experience for the Badger, which is based on the Finnish Patria design. Denel Land Systems is currently building 238 Badger 8x8 vehicles for the Army at its Lyttelton premises in Centurion. These will be delivered over ten years and will partially replace the Army’s Ratel fleet.

ThoroughTec is no stranger to working with the South African National Defence Force as it has supplied all South African Army driver trainers including for the Ratel ZT-3, Rooikat, Casspir, Olifant, Mamba and Army trucks and cars. Although Thoroughtec has separate driver and turret simulators these can be linked together to train armoured vehicle crews, for example.

The Durban-based company’s simulator products have also found favour with the Australian, Swedish and Croatian militaries where its advanced driver training systems are currently in service. All simulation software is designed in-house, including the physics engines, motion platforms etc.

“The shift in global defence imperatives since the end of the Cold War has left many militaries struggling to strike a balance in their defence posture. Torn between the dynamic reality of low-intensity, asymmetric and peace support type operations and the persistent need to maintain credible conventional forces, governments have recognised the vital importance of Simulator based training as an effective, efficient means of managing this dilemma,” ThoroughTec said.

“Our simulators are solutions for militaries looking to economically train large numbers of personnel on a range of vehicles and systems,” said David Cooke, ThoroughTec military business development manager.

“In a world where the bottom line all too often dominates training priorities, Cyberwar simulators are an affordable, effective alternative to traditional training and force preparation methods. They allow militaries to build up reserves of trained personnel and maintain learnt skills, ultimately maintaining force preparedness while cutting training costs and radically reducing wear on prime mission equipment,” he added.

Thoroughtec specialises in mining simulators and other ground vehicle simulators. It is headquartered in Durban but has offices in Chile, the United States, Canada, Russia and Australia and employs around 200 people.

Local UAV company S-Plane has unveiled its new Paragon command and control system, able to control multiple UAVs simultaneously.

Paragon was officially launched at the Africa Aerospace and Defence exhibition last month. The system is essentially a 3D world in which unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), waypoints and other metadata are all objects that can be manipulated and controlled graphically by the operator. UAV sensor data can be viewed and projected onto the map, and as more data is gathered, more detail is added to the map. “This is the first of its kind as far as we know…there has been a lot of interest,” said Dr Iain Peddle, Chief Technical Officer at S-Plane.

Paragon allows the operator to control multiple UAVs as well as their payloads and can plot sensor swathe areas so that maximum coverage is obtained by aircraft sensors. An archiving function allows specific imagery to be reviewed in high definition. The system can be run on mobile devices such as rugged tables and laptops connecting to S-Plane’s ground data terminals wirelessly for freedom of operation.

S-Plane was established in 2008 and specialises in UAV flight control units and avionics with a focus on reliable subsystems. S-Plane started with flight control systems but now offers things like payload management units, power management systems etc. All software is developed in-house and all hardware is manufactured in South Africa.

Some of its main subsystems include the xSERIES control units for larger UAVs that address functions like flight control, navigation, power and payload management. Launched at AAD was the nxSERIES, which are smaller units aimed at more compact aircraft.
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S-Plane
Swift
Nightingale


In addition to manufacturing control systems and software, S-Plane has built two UAVs: the Swift and Nightingale. The Swift was built as a demonstrator for subsystems but is now offered as an operational aircraft. It has a wingspan of 7.5 metres and is powered by a UEL AR-741 rotary engine, giving an endurance of 12 hours and ceiling of 18 000 feet. It can carry two payloads, including an electro-optical/infrared turret and radar etc.

The Nightingale small UAV was built in conjunction with the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), which wanted to airdrop medical samples. Three Nightingales were built in conjunction with the South African Civil Aviation Authority and NHLS. 75 flights were flown without failure. However, the NHLS programme is on hold. Peddle said S-Plane was very interested in pursuing the medical role for UAVs and that countries with large rural areas can benefit from the system.

However, Peddle noted that S-Plane is more focused on subsystems rather than complete systems. “We see ourselves as an upgrade, refurbishment, system integration and design and engineering house.”

A Army Chief, Lieutenant General Vusi Masondo, yesterday officially took the Starstreak ground-based air defence missile system into the landward forces inventory.

The handover took place at 10 Anti-Aircraft Regiment headquarters at Diskobolos, Kimberley as is part of the Army’s drive to rejuvenate its hardware, alluded to by Masondo last month when he met the media.

The system, according to an Army statement, comes in two configurations: a multiple launcher unit and a shoulder-launched unit. This is a very short range air defence (VSHORAD) system that will be utilised by the Air Defence Artillery Formation as a fire unit to defend critical installations.

The system came to South Africa early in 2004. It then underwent extensive modification and enhancement at Denel Land Systems to adapt it to African conditions and the specification requirements of the Air Defence Artillery Formation to the point where it is now ready to be taken into service with a six kilometre range.

The testing phase saw both the multiple launcher and shoulder-launched unit trialled at AFB Zwartkop and Denel’s Overberg Test Range as well as the Air Defence Artillery range at Riemvasmaak in Northern Cape

No less than 12 shipyards, half of them South African, have signalled interest in supplying the SA Navy with a new hydrographic vessel.

Representatives from all 12 attended a recent four day long bidders’ conference in Simon’s Town as a precursor to Armscor obtaining formal and binding offers for the acquisition of a new hydrographic capability for the maritime arm of service of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF).

@AUGUSTUS AS USUALLY A GREAT MISCHIEF AND OUTDATED FOX....THE South African High Commission to Nigeria is Mr Lulu Louis Mnguni......Ms Mavivi is based in Namibia.....@AUGUSTUS cannot even know SUCH PROMINENT INDIVIDUALS BASED IN NIGERIA

SANDF

Here is the evidence of 14 heroes who died in Bangui and @AUGUSTUS if its 50 soldiers show evidence ie: Names, Ranks, Force Number and names of the their families....maybe you know more than South Africans PHOTO 4 ONE OF THE BEST FIGHTERS

SANDF