Achieving total independence from international original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) would be difficult for the South African Air Force (SAAF) but local industry partnership mechanisms can minimise the maintenance burden.
This was one of the conclusions reached at the Aerospace Indaba held at Wonderboom National Airport on 24 October. One of the aims of the indaba was to engage with the aviation industry on aligning the SAAF with the South African National Defence Force’s (SANDF’s) Journey to Greatness.
The catchy slogan for the SAAF is “Free the Eagle” and in pursuant of this, the indaba amongst others looked at the logistic and support challenges in the SAAF. The goals of the engagement were to explore mechanisms for the SAAF to 1) eventually achieve independence from international OEMs, 2) explore partnership with local industry, and 3) examine investment in resources and infrastructure that could assist the SAAF in the future.
The SAAF was well represented at the event and was very open in discussion about what is required moving forward. Unfortunately, industry and Armscor participation was a little underwhelming. This forum was maybe too close to September’s Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) exhibition and just prior to year ending project closure actions.
An interesting format was used to facilitate engagement. The SAAF opened with a short presentation on each of three topics: 1) MRO briefing; 2) Training & Capacity Building briefing; and 3) Design & Systems Support briefing. Industry answered each briefing with a panel discussion with multiple industry role players explaining local capability coverage. The industry feedback is that total independence from international OEMs would be difficult, but local industry partnership mechanisms can minimise the burden on the SAAF.
There is a resource challenge in the country, the indaba heard, and the next generation of human capital needs to be identified and trained. In an innovative move, the SAAF would like to explore the possibility of deploying SAAF resources into industry. This could be a cost-effective method of keeping skills and technical capabilities.
The indaba was a positive initiative and a follow-up needs to be planned for the alternative years of AAD.
Written by James Kerr, Orion Consulting CC, which provides Market Entry Strategy and Bid & Proposal services to the Aerospace & Defence related industry and assists international SME mission system product suppliers to gain traction in South Africa.
