South African media, as seen in a report by Sputnik, has confirmed that at least six Russian companies including the state-owned Rosoboronexport will be present at the AAD 2024 event which will be held at the Waterkloof Air Force Base near the country’s capital, Pretoria.
This is hardly the first play Rosoboronexport has made in the African market, as two years ago, the company indicated an acute interest in expanding its influence in Africa, using the same platform.
“At AAD 2022, we are showcasing about 400 of the best Russian products for all branches of the armed forces, police and special operations units, security equipment and cyber security solutions, as well as a wide range of civilian products,” Rosoboronexport Director General Alexander Mikheev had stated at the time.
According to a report by defenceWeb, the company committed to showcasing Russian-made hardware for land forces including the T-90S main battle tank, TOS-1A heavy flamethrower system, Smerch multiple rocket launcher system, Msta-S self-propelled howitzer with a standard NATO 155 mm gun, BTR-80A and BTR-82A armoured personnel carriers, various versions of the Tigr and Typhoon wheeled armoured vehicles, as well as the Kornet-EM anti-tank guided missile system. Small arms, including Kalashnikov AK-100-, AK-200- series, AK-12, AK-15 and AK-19 assault rifles, and body armour during the last AAD event held in 2022.
First held in 1975, the Africa Aerospace and Defense (AAD) is Africa’s only aerospace and defense expo that combines both a trade exhibition and an air show.
It is held every two years and attracts hundreds of companies globally. According to its official website, it is scheduled to be held between 18th to 20th of September, 2024.
An earlier report last week by defenceWeb indicated that Russia’s military was looking into the idea of sending Tupolev Tu-160 bombers to Air Force Base Waterkloof for the program.
To this effect, seven Russian military officers came to Waterkloof on July 22 to look into the area, according to an article written by Captain Tebogo August for the SA Air Force’s Ad Astra magazine.
The Tu-160 bombers initially reached South Africa in October 2019, during the Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi.
Russia and South Africa’s agreements on military technical cooperation and cooperation between their respective defense ministries was officially validated in 1995.
In August 2018 Russia and the Southern African Development Community signed a military technical cooperation pact in addition to the BRICS summit in South Africa.
