Report: AAD 2008 Written by I.M.G. IPMS SA Media Group Wednesday, 15 October 2008 Africa Aerospace and Defence 2008 (AAD 2008) – The largest exhibition of Air, Sea and Land equipment on the African Continent. Background to AAD 2008 By Piet van Schalkwyk - I.M.G. AAD 2008 was presented at AFB Ysterplaat, Cape Town, South Africa, over the period 17 to 21 September 2008. This was the second of these huge exhibitions to be held at AFB Ysterplaat, following on from AAD 2006. The air component of the exhibitions started many years ago as the Aviation Africa exhibition, which was hosted by the Commercial Aviation Association of South Africa. This was later renamed Aviation Africa International, due to some international participation. A second organisation, the South African Aerospace, Maritime and Defence related Industries Association (AMD) hosted the South African Air Force (SAAF) 75th anniversary exhibitions at AFB Waterkloof, during 1995, which was a huge success, but also incorporating a large military exhibition. With the growing request for further military trade exhibits and an airshow, a joint venture between CAASA and AMD was therefore the obvious way forward. The last Aviation Africa International was held in 1996. In 1998 CAASA and AMD joined in organising an exhibition which was then named Aerospace Africa. The venue for this exhibition was AFB Waterkloof and the amalgamation with AMD Hawk & Gripen at DEXSA 1998 incorporated a greater military influence. The next step was for the biennial DEXSA (Defence Exhibition of South Africa) and Aerospace Africa to be combined into Africa Aerospace & Defence, jointly hosted and presented by Armscor, AMD and CAASA. This soon grew to the biggest civilian and military aerospace and defence-related shows to be held in Africa. The AAD is jointly hosted by Armscor, AMD, CAASA and the Department of Defence renders support to the exhibition. Every two years the chairpersonship rotates amongst the three organisations, and AAD 2008 was chaired by AMD, with Mr Simphiwe Hamilton serving as the show director. In his introduction message he mentioned the following: “The combination of the general aviation and defence sectors broadens the scope of what AAD 2008 will offer. Feedback received from exhibitors, confirms that this duality will again result in a healthy infusion of leading edge technologies arriving at cost effective solutions to many security-related and general aviation challenges”. AAD 2008: Introduction The members of the media all met at AFB Ysterplaat on the 16th September 2008, to receive their accreditation passes and a media briefing. Registration was handled expertly and professionally. The media briefing was presented by Mr Billy Nell, who thereafter took the members on a guided tour of the various display halls and facilities. Media facilities were situated conveniently close to the operational control area and a very high level of service was presented by the Media liaison team. Sufficient IT equipment and refreshments were available throughout the whole period of the exhibition and airshow. Some arrangements, on occasions, seemed a bit impractical, but after discussions with the organisers all media members were well accommodated in their various requests. The Opening Ceremony - Wednesday 17 By Piet van Schalkwyk - I.M.G. September 2008 AAD 2008 was officially opened by Mr Mosiuoa Lekota, the Minister of Defence. He was introduced to the assembled guests by Lt Gen Carlo Gagiano, the Chief of the SAAF. In his introduction Lt Gen Gagiano mentioned that AAD 2008 was bigger than 2006 and that it was by far the biggest yet of such a type of show. AAD 2008 housed thirty exhibiting countries, with more than 200 exhibitors. The organisers were expecting some 17 000 trade visitors during the three trade days, including 11 Ministers of Defence, 3 Deputy Ministers of Defence, 9 Secretaries for Defence, 8 Chiefs of Defence Forces, 24 Chiefs of Armed Services, 24 Chiefs of Air Force and 80 Foreign VIP The arrival of the Minister of Defence and the Chief of the South Defence Delegations. African Air Force Delegations from 20 other African countries were expected. During his opening remarks, the Minister made it very clear that the government had realised the importance of technology and industries in the development of South Africa and its neighbouring countries, as the African continent is hugely reliant on air transport for growth, stability and service delivery. He mentioned that aerospace was a main component of this. He also mentioned that he hoped that the future would see more African countries as exhibitors and not just as visitors. The Minister made it clear that a requirement existed for more international alliances for mutual programmes, especially seen in the light of Peace Support Operations that had to be carried out using equipment that have stood the test of time. In line with these requirements the South African Government had launched three Aerospace Support Initiatives. The first of these were various research programmes, managed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the second the new Centurion Aerospace Village centred on design, maintenance and repair, while the third was the National Centre of Aerospace Excellence in Johannesburg. The aim of these programmes The Emblem of AAD 2008, unveiled by the Minister of Defence is to drive scarce skills and they run beyond the military into the civilian aerospace sector. The Flag Bearers retire from the Parade Area AIR The Ceremonial Commissioning of the Gripen By Piet van Schalkwyk - Advanced Light Fighter Fleet: The rise of a “powerful I.M.G. beast” in the South African skies In numerical sequence as part of the ceremonial commissioning of the Gripen One of the most significant items on the programme for Wednesday, 17th September 2008 was the ceremonial commissioning of the Gripen and the handover of the aircraft to the South African Air Force. The Griffin, or Gryphon in English is a mythological creature – half eagle and half lion. The Gripen was the last of the major weapons acquirement programmes, undertaken during the late 1990’s to be handed over to the various arms of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). This followed deliveries of the Valour Class Frigates and the Type 209 Submarines to the SA Navy and the Augusta 109 Light Utility Helicopters and Hawk Mk 120 Lead-In Fighter-Trainer aircraft to the South African Air Force. The four two-seater Gripens that had already been delivered in South Africa flew over in formation, after which the leader, Lt Col Charl Coetzee gave a solo aerobatic display. All four aircraft then landed, taxied in to the parade area in numerical sequence and did a combined shut-down in front of the crowd. After the pilots had disembarked, Lt Col Glen Gibson, the Officer From Greek mythology - the Gryphon Commanding, 2 Squadron and Lt Col Musa Mbhokota is a powerful beast escorted the Minister of Defence, the Chief of the SANDF and the Chief of the SAAF to meet all the partaking pilots in person. The first four SAAF Gripens in diamond formation with the solo display aircraft in the lead These included South Africans Johannes Joubert (Denel Test Pilot) and Col Mike Edwards (SAAF Projects Officer). After returning to the dais, the Commemorative certificate was signed by the three dignitaries. The Minister of Defence, Lt Col Glen Gibson (Officer Commanding, 2 Sqdn) and Maj Musa Mbhokota. Followed by Chief of the SANDF, Gen Ngwenya and the Chief of the SAAF, Lt Gen Gagiano. The Minister of Defence thereafter addressed the guests. In his address he highlighted the fact that the Defence Force should be a modern, technologically advanced force and that the Gripen is a potent symbol of that aspiration. He mentioned that Air Power is a key component of modern defence capability and that fighter aircraft fulfil a key Commissioning Phase Ceremonial Certificate role in enabling the use of the air by friendly forces and in denying free use to an enemy. The Gripen will be the icon of South Africa’s air capability for several decades to come. The final formality was the hand-over of the Ceremonial Gripen Model by the Minister of Defence to the Chief of the SANDF, who in turn, handed it over to the Chief of the SAAF. Handing over of the Ceremonial Gripen Model to the Chief of the SANDF, who in turn handed it over the Chief of the SAAF. Minister of Defence Mr Lekotha - during his address Solo display pilot Lt Col Charl Coetzee – SAAF The Silver Falcons receives a new By Ettienne Kotze' - I.M.G. identity The Silver Falcons in their new colours The name “Silver Falcons” originated from two prominent reasons. “Silver Falcons” in English and “Silwer Valke” in Afrikaans sounded far better than the name “Bumbling Bees” – which was the name used previously. The other reason being the team used the Impala jet trainer which was painted in high speed silver. In 42 years the team used four major colour schemes. The original standard colour scheme as used on the SAAF Impala Mk1s were furnished in all over high speed silver with only the tail featuring the three colour bands of the then National flag of orange, white and blue. In addition the individual position numbers were also carried on the tail. In 1984 the first change was introduced. Up until 1984, the SAAF had adopted the viewpoint that it would not The original Silver Falcons in the Republic colour scheme follow other international teams by furnishing the aircraft of the team with a unique identifying colour scheme. WO1 “Kip” le Grange and Col Holmes (team lead and OC of Langebaanweg at the time) played around with the idea of adding some colour.