This month’s Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) exhibition at Air Force Base (AFB) Waterkloof will be opened by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, also Commander-in-Chief of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF).
The exhibition is the twelfth in its current iteration dating back to 2000 when DEXSA (Defence Exhibition of SA) merged with Aviation Africa, first staged at what is now Lanseria International Airport in October 1975. With the exception of 2006, 2008 and 2010 when Cape Town’s AFB Ysterplaat hosted it while major earthworks, civil engineering and construction work was underway, AFB Waterkloof has been “home” to AAD, as it was to predecessor DEXSA.
Confirmation of the Presidential presence at Waterkloof came from Minister in The Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, updated the country on the 4 September Cabinet meeting.
AAD 2024 has as its theme “Exploring New Paths, Sharing Solutions, Showcasing Innovation and Capability” and is, according to the statement, ranked with the top six in the global defence calendar. The exhibition runs from 18 to 22 September with three trade days ahead of the weekend open days and the air show.
Ntshavheni listed seven AAD objectives ranging from showcasing South African developed aerospace and defence technology, facilitating international partnerships including business to business and government to government, promoting exports “which sustain the defence and aviation industries”, through to facilitating job creation and creating an educational platform promoting defence and aviation careers as reasons why the exhibition rates the Presidential presence.
Included in the foreign countries which have confirmed attendance at Waterkloof for AAD 2024 are (in no particular order) Kenya, Botswana, Senegal, Morocco, South Korea, China, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkiye, Singapore, Armenia, India, Pakistan, Suomi (Finland), Germany, Czech Republic, France, Netherlands, Italy, Albania, Russia, Belgium, United States (US), United Kingdom, Canada and Brazil. A visit to South Africa by a Russian Long Range Aviation delegation in July points to an as yet unconfirmed Russian military aviation presence at AAD, possibly including Tupolev Tu-160 bombers.
Exhibition organisers are on record saying AAD 2024 will be the biggest yet with the addition of, among others, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), energy, and general aviation (GA) hubs. A conference, arranged and hosted by defenceWeb and sponsored by Milkor, coinciding with AAD offers what is termed “a comprehensive exploration of trends, innovation and opportunities within the African defence and security sector”. Scheduled to run for three days, with delegates choosing whether to attend all or selected days, the conference will examine future warfare, showcase the South African defence industry (SADI) and elaborate on maritime security.
Click here to find out more about the AAD 2024 Conference.
defenceWeb is also producing the official Show Daily magazine for AAD 2024. Find out more here.
