South African National Defence Force (SANDF)

[TR_123456]

Thread dedicated to South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

 

[Test7]

South African Seeker 400 UAV crash​

A Seeker 400 unmanned Aerial vehicle belonging to the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) has suffered a mishap.

Photographs of the crashed Seeker 400 UAV emerged on Thursday, 10 March showing the aircraft with serious damage after a descent under parachute.

Photographs of the crashed Seeker 400 UAV

So far, the South African military have not made any statement regarding the incident, however, according to defense commentator and Director of African Defence Review Darren Olivier, “If it’s in South Africa the only known operator of this type is Defence Intelligence, so it might be theirs.”

The UAV may have deployed a parachute upon malfunctioning however, the airframe was severely damaged with the horizontal elevator broken off, as well as the nose cone and and front landing wheel.

A gimballed forward looking infrared camera is still attached to the airframe.

The Seeker 400 is the newest Seeker variant designed by Denel Dynamics, it offers enhanced situational awareness capabilities and other improvements over the Seeker 2.

The UAV is designed to perform tactical reconnaissance in real time and can conduct day and night surveillance in all threat environments.

The type was recently acquired by the United Arab Emirates for it’s Presidential Guards which is the launch customer.

For a while now, the UAE have been procuring Seeker UAVs from Denel including, Seeker II, Seeker 200 and Seeker 400 UAVs from Denel. The UAE is the launch customer for both the Seeker 200 and 400.

Denel will supply the Arab nation with six UAV units, two ground control stations, six electro-optics payloads, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), satellite communication (SATCOM), and the integration of weapons.

South African Seeker 400 UAV crash

A Seeker 400 unmanned Aerial vehicle belonging to the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) has suffered a mishap. Photographs of the crashed Seeker 4

www.africanmilitaryblog.com

 

[Test7]

First South African MMIPV Launched​

On 25 March 2021, Damen Shipyards Cape Town (DSCT) launched the first of three Multi Mission Inshore Patrol Vessels (MMIPV) procured by ARMSCOR for the South African Navy (SAN).

The vessels will augment South Africa’s maritime security by enhancing the country’s capability to respond effectively, rapidly and cost-effectively to threats such as illegal trafficking and fishing.

DSCT Project Manager, Ian Stewart says the launch is an important milestone for the shipyard. “This is the culmination of three years of hard work by a dedicated team of people. Ultimately, more than one million man-hours of work will be invested in the construction of the three MMIPVs.”

The more than 600-ton vessel was transported from the DSCT shipyard on the evening of 23 March 2021 to the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) synchrolift at the Victoria & Alfred (V&A) Waterfront Basin. The move was conducted by Mammoet South Africa, using 48 axle lines of Self Propelled Mobile Transporters (SPMTs) to provide precision movement. Mammoet Project Manager, Uzayr Karimulla, says while moving the vessel at night meant less impact on traffic, the reduction in light came with its own challenges. “Through careful planning, close collaboration, and the teamwork between DSCT and Mammoet South Africa, our team made this move a success. We are very happy to have been part of the project, contributing to the advancement of safer waters in Southern Africa.”

Once the vessel was raised onto the synchrolift, the team waited for high tide to come in before moving it out of the V&A Basin via TNPA tugs towards the Elliot Bason. The testing of the ship systems will now commence before the vessel will officially be delivered to ARMSCOR/SAN, before the end of the year.

The MMIPVs are built according to the patented Damen Axe Bow design, which ensures low resistance, high sustained speed in waves and superior sea keeping characteristics in the toughest conditions.

As vertical accelerations are reduced significantly and bow slamming almost eliminated, the safety of the vessel and crew increases considerably, reducing operational risks. The multi mission deck is used for supporting diving, search and rescue and anti-piracy operations.

DSCT HR & Transformation Manager, Eva Moloi, says DSCT is particularly proud of the many years it has invested in local South African skills transfer, training, and entrepreneurship development and collaboration, which have resulted in a strong South African pool of scarce trade skills and supplier partnerships.

“Our local skills transfer and Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) initiatives mean that we are not only contributing to the South African economy but ensuring that our local South African maritime market is less reliant on imports from international suppliers. DSCT fully supports the transfer of technology, inclusion of local companies in the execution projects, and stimulation of export transactions under the Defence Industrial Participation (DIP) programme, which particularly focuses on benefiting SMMEs, Military Veteran (MV) Owned Entities and Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Compliant Entities. The partnerships formed during this project have led to the successful launch of the MMIPV. One can truly state that the MMIPVs have been built in South Africa, by South Africans for South Africa,” she adds.

The engineering of the vessel commenced in 2018 and the keel was laid in February 2019. “Despite the COVID lockdown period, our local skills and partnerships, resilient production schedule and advanced planning capabilities of our Cape Town team, allowed the different subcontractors and teams to work on the vessel in a safe manner,” notes Moloi.

Damen Shipyards Cape Town launches SA Navy’s first Multi-Mission Inshore Patrol Vessel

Damen Shipyards Cape Town launched the first of three Multi Mission Inshore Patrol Vessels (MMIPV). The vessels will augment South Africa’s maritime security.

www.damen.com

 

[Saithan]

Refit of SA Navy frigates and submarines stalled by lack of funding​

Written by Guy Martin -
20th Aug 2021

A frigate in the Armscor dockyard.

The South African Navy does not have enough funds to refit the majority of its frigates and submarines and combined with underfunding of maintenance, this has been a major contributor to the Navy not meeting its sea hour targets.

This is according to a progress report from the Department of Defence (DoD) presented at a Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans (PCDMV) meeting on 18 August.

For the 2021/22 financial year, the SA Navy’s vessel refit as well as maintenance and repair full cost requirement of R1.470 billion is only 53.4% funded, with R786 million allocated. “This impacts negatively on the preparation of naval platforms for force preparation and force employment,” the DoD stated, adding that “the underfunding of the refit, maintenance and repair of vessels…is the major contributing factor towards the non-achievement of planned sea hours.” The Navy’s annual sea hour target is 10 000 per year, but its target has not been achieved for some time.

The operational availability and longevity of naval platforms primarily depend on them undergoing periodic scheduled refits (major overhauls) of all systems, equipment and machinery to ensure effective, efficient and economical combat readiness of the total platform.

Due to historic and current funding shortages, only one of the four frigates, SAS Amatola, was partially refitted in 2014/15 and only one of the three submarines, SAS Manthatisi, was refitted in 2013/14. Funding for the refit of the remaining three frigates (SAS Isandlwana, SAS Spioenkop and SAS Mendi) and for the Submarine SAS Queen Modjadji 1 was not available since they became due for refits, the DoD said.

The current focus is on the completion of the refit of the submarine SAS Charlotte Maxeke, which remains work in progress being undertaken by the Armscor Dockyard. An outstanding amount of R189 million has been made available to ensure the completion of the current refit during the 2023/24 financial year.

“Plans to refit the remaining three frigates and submarine will be finalised based on the availability of progressive funding to enable the phased commencement of their refits. In this regard it is to be noted that the average cost estimate for a frigate refit amounts to R687 million and that of a submarine refit amounts to R660 million,” the DoD stated.

Pending the conduct of the outstanding refits, the SA Navy’s current focus is to prioritise essential maintenance and repair of the frigates SAS Spioenkop and SAS Mendi, the combat support ship SAS Drakensberg and the Submarine SAS Manthatisi to ensure their expedited operational availability.

In spite of a lack of assets, the SA Navy executed two Operation Corona maritime patrols off the KwaZulu-Natal coast and South Coast of the Western Cape Province respectively this year. The submarine SAS Manthatisi deployed off the KwaZulu-Natal coast from 5 to 27 May.

The Maritime Reaction Squadron (a Reaction Force Platoon, an Operational Diving Team and an Operational Boats Element) deployed in the Overberg region of the Western Cape Province from 26 Apr to 25 May.

Refit of SA Navy frigates and submarines stalled by lack of funding - defenceWeb

The South African Navy does not have enough funds to refit the majority of its frigates and submarines and combined with underfunding of maintenance, this has been a major contributor to the Navy not meeting its sea hour targets. This is according to a progress report from the Department of...

www.defenceweb.co.za

 

[Saithan]

SANDF spends R32 million on UAVs for border security​

Written by Guy Martin -
20th Aug 2021

A UAV readied for launch by SANDF personnel.

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has spent R32 million on acquiring unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and training 20 pilots for border security, but has failed to acquire additional UAVs.

This emerged during a Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans briefing on 18 August, when the Department of Defence (DoD) also revealed that orders worth R32.514 million for additional UAVs were cancelled “due to industry’s inability to supply the required equipment. In an endeavoured to ensure optimal spending, the R32.514 million was then utilised for the upgrading of border line infrastructure.”

By means of reprioritisation from within Joint Operations during the current year, the R32.514 million is planned to be utilised for land, air and maritime border technology, the Department of Defence said.

It is not clear what unmanned aerial vehicles are being used, but the SANDF is known to fly DJI Phantoms and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-developed Indiza hand-launched fixed wing UAVs. The SANDF is believed to have started flying these UAVs since at least 2018, and in 2019 it emerged that they would also be deployed by the South African contingent in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

To improve border security, National Treasury allocated R225 million to the Department of Defence over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework period. This includes R65 million in the 2020/21 financial year; R75 million in the 2021/22 financial year; and R85 million in the 2022/23 financial year.

“Plans to spend the allocated R75 million for FY2021/22 are in place and expenditure will be reported-on during the following quarters,” the DoD told Parliament.

SANDF spends R32 million on UAVs for border security - defenceWeb

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has spent R32 million on acquiring unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and training 20 pilots for border security, but has failed to acquire additional UAVs. This emerged during a Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans briefing on 18...

www.defenceweb.co.za

 

[TR_123456]

Defence Minister Thandi Modise in Moscow for conference on 'global security'​

Defence Minister Thandi Modise

PHOTO: Deon Raath

• Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise is in Russia for an international security conference.
• Modise was invited by her Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu and will be in Moscow for three days.
• Just days ago, the United States raised concerns about the threats China and Russia posed to its interest in sub-Saharan Africa.

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Defence Minister Thandi Modise is in Russia for the 10th Moscow Conference on International Security, just days after the release of a document stressing the threats posed by China and Russia to the United States' interest in sub-Saharan Africa.

Modise was invited by her Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu and will be in Moscow for three days.


According to Modise's spokesperson Cornelius Monama, the conference's objectives are to share practical ideas and explore solutions on matters of global security.

Modise is expected to address the conference on Tuesday.

Monama said:

Minister Thandi Modise is also scheduled to have a bilateral meeting with the Russian Minister of Defence, General Shoigu, on the margins of the conference. South Africa and the Russian Federation enjoy cordial relations. Both countries have signed a number of military-related bilateral agreements which are yielding significant benefits for both countries.
Modise is also expected to engage with defence ministers and experts from across the globe on security challenges.

"As one of the key players on peace and security on the African continent, it is hoped that this conference will help expose South Africa to practical and innovative strategies to address defence and security challenges that confront Africa.

"South Africa stands ready to work with all peace-loving nations of the world, through relevant multilateral bodies, to contribute meaningfully towards lasting peace in the world," Monama said.

Defence Minister Thandi Modise in Moscow for conference on 'global security' | News24

Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise is in Russia for an international security conference.

www.news24.com