SAAF Hawks or Gripens to grounded? April fool’s joke?

[ian16th]

From African Pilot Aviation News Website

African Pilot

According to an enlightened report due to the SAAF’s 10% budget cut for the 2016/17 financial year coupled with the Rand’s decreasing value either 2 Squadron (Gripen) or 35 Combat Flying School (Hawk) could be closed. The 10% decrease in the budget of the airborne arm of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) is considerably because replacement parts have to be paid for in foreign currency and the South African Rand has depreciated by 30% against major international currencies over the past year.

As an example it quoted the replacement price of an ejection seat for the Hawk as costing in the region of R14 million. Efforts to save money have already seen four Hawks cannibalised for parts. According to reports three Hawks have already been written off due to accidents. At the time of acquisition indications were that the 24 Hawks would fly in the region of 4 000 hours a year in total. In terms of the current budget and with only seven Hawk qualified pilots, the aircraft are carded to fly 560 hours in the 2016/17 year.

The situation with regard to the Gripen squadron is a whole lot worse with only five pilots who can fly the 26 Gripens, half of which are already in storage. The pilot shortage comes as a result of the resignation of three senior pilots late last year with a further currently in the process of leaving the air force mostly to take up positions in airlines where they actually get the opportunity to fly.

Editor comments
Our once proud SAAF has been reduced to something of a joke mainly as the result of failed government affirmative action policies. Do they really think that by placing a whole bunch of people in charge that have not the faintest idea of what they are doing would really work? Just look at the Minister of Defence; Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, who obviously knows very little about war strategy and probably does not even know what RADAR stands for. These people have managed to turn South Africa’s once proud air force into a laughing stock, just like the navy and almost every other government managed organisation in South Africa? Affirmative Action needs to be halted if South Africa ever hopes to be competitive within the international arena ever again.

Government policy is lowering the country’s standards in everything and is creating so much resentment amongst the white population that they are leaving the country in their droves. This will ultimately lead to South Africa being just another ‘failed state’ like nearly ALL African states to the north of South Africa. Whatever happened to Nelson Mandela’s dream of a country where all our treated equally and that this country would prosper taking its rightful place amongst the finest of nations? The present so called BEEE reform policy has been taken too far by the present government and this will ultimately lead to the further demise of South Africa’s infrastructure and institutions just as it already has with the SAAF. Finally, the fact that many young South African people of all colours have been the product of the dysfunctional government education system means that future generations are being denied their fundamental rights.

[Alisoncc]

Sorry to dash your expectations Ian, but did you ever expect anything different? Personally can't see any need for the SANDF. Who in their area is capable of an invasion or would want to for that matter?

Alison

[A Lutra Continua]

Used to be the second oldest air farce in the world, after the RAF/RFC. Guess it can now be considered defunct.

[ian16th]

Sorry to dash your expectations Ian, but did you ever expect anything different? Personally can't see any need for the SANDF. Who in their area is capable of an invasion or would want to for that matter?

Alison

My expectations aren't dashed, but it is still sad to see.

What is it about the African psyche, that fails to see the need for maintenance?

This applies equally to servicing high tech a/c or repairing potholes in the road.

[A Lutra Continua]

The way things are seen is that if it's working it doesn't need to be fixed or worked on and the maintenance budget can be spent on more important things like new luxury cars and the personal retirement fund of the bloke in control of the money.

[Mrs Ex-Ascot]

Maybe the money would be better spent on anti poaching units. The BDF does a good job here which is why we are host to an increasing number of Rhinos. Incidentally just read an article in our local rag (The Ngami Times ) that Tanzania is militarising their staff in their National Parks in the hope of sorting out their poaching problem.

[500N]

Mrs Ex.

Surprised they haven't done so before, after all the poachers have no problems opening fire
on all and sundry they come across.

Good training for the troops as well plus they might get the odd "kill" with no loss to society.

[A Lutra Continua]

I think they tried it in SA. Not sure if it's still going on. There was some trouble a while back when one of the rangers was attacked by a 'soldier' for asking them to do their jobs instead of lazing about the base watching football.

I use 'soldier' in apostrophes because those clowns aren't a soldier's arse.

[Mrs Ex-Ascot]

Maybe the SA army can learn from the BDF; they don't mess about! Shoot to kill policy here seems to be pretty effective. And everyone works together. It would be a good thing if SA could eliminate poaching before it's too late for some species.

[A Lutra Continua]

With what's currently running SA (into the ground) it would be like setting a fox to guard the henhouse.

[A Lutra Continua]

On a related note, I see Zuma has said that the African way of doing things trumps anything the law may have to say on the subject. If that takes off, you can kiss goodbye anything you own that's not nailed down and pretty much all wildlife. This arse clown makes Mugabe look sane and reasonable.