Aerospace and defence company Incomar, in addition to expanding its capabilities and adding new aircraft to its fleet, is also adding key personnel to its team, with former Denel executive Riaz Saloojee taking up the role of Head of Strategy and Business Optimisation.
“We are delighted to welcome Riaz to the Incomar team,” said CEO Lance Wellington. “His experience is extensive, making him a valuable addition to our leadership team. We believe that his insights will contribute significantly to our continued success and growth.”
Saloojee served as the Group CEO of Denel and as Chief Restructuring Officer at the state-owned company, amongst others, and has a wealth of experience in the defence industry that will, according to Incomar, bring a strategic vision and deep expertise that will further enhance Incomar’s skills base and sustainability.
“He will lead initiatives to strengthen Incomar’s position as a leader in the aerospace and defence sector, both locally and internationally,” the company said, adding that it is committed to investing in top talent.
“I am looking forward to this next chapter and to contribute to the company’s strategic initiatives,” said Saloojee. “With this enormously talented team of engineers, flight operations, and test pilots, we can innovate and optimise operations and enhance our capabilities as a leading aerospace and defence company.”
Incomar was established in 2000 as a flight test and integration company. One of its notable milestones was the supporting the commissioning of the Gripen Flight Test Centre in 2008. Another notable year was 2023 when Wellington was appointed as CEO and founder Johannes ‘Blokkies’ Joubert became Group Chairperson. Incomar also acquired Master Tech Aircraft Maintenance in Robertson (with satellite stations in George, Mosselbaai, Wonderboom and Stilbaai) and Jaffie Aviation Training, also in Robertson. The latter has three aircraft for pilot training.
Since its establishment, Incomar has evolved into a fully-fledged aerospace and defence engineering firm that now employs more than 270 people. Its current focus is on systems design, development and integration; testing on a range of platforms; product development; and flight testing and support.
The company has established capability in the design of custom airborne avionics and mission systems, flight computing systems, custom ground control systems for unmanned platforms, Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms for use in various aerospace and defence applications, and custom electro-optical sensors and detectors for use in various aerospace and defence applications.
These capabilities include electronic engineering and high-end printed circuit board (PCB) design, firmware development, embedded and desktop software development to aerospace and defence standards, mechanical engineering, structural and thermal design, aeronautical analysis and design, and test and integration bench development. Incomar has manufactured airborne mission computers, flight computers, stores management systems, and ground control systems for a number of foreign clients.
Incomar can furthermore assist clients with a diverse array of aircraft integration capabilities. Flight testing activities cover high-risk static/dynamic (flutter) testing, airborne store carriage and separation, first flight/envelope expansion, certification testing, flight test planning, handling qualities, and aircraft performance.
In support of flight test activities, Incomar employs Class I and II experimental test pilots and flight test engineers who can perform basic and full experimental testing of aircraft and systems – for example, Incomar aircrew were involved in the production flight testing of the AHRLAC/Mwari aircraft and have amongst others tested a Hensoldt sensor systems on the company’s Cessna 208 Caravan.
Incomar has multiple aircraft dedicated to flight testing, including a Cessna 208 Caravan that is used for testing electro-optical systems, camera pods, synthetic aperture radars etc. A Vans RV-7A is used for flight test instrumentation development and flight modelling. The company’s Aermacchi AM.3C supports light low-speed stores development support platform, and the company’s recently acquired Learjet 35 business jet will support high-speed avionics systems and sensors testing.
Incomar operates from two hangars at Wonderboom National Airport, four buildings in Gauteng, and an AMO and the flying school in Robertson in the Western Cape.
