November was a good month for some SA Air Force (SAAF) personnel, particularly those involved in the jet line, with a 19 day weapons camp at Air Force Base (AFB) Overberg.
Making it special was the fact it was the first of the current financial year (2024/25) with seven Hawk Mk 120 lead in fighter trainer (LIFT) jets from 85 Combat Flying School (CFS) at AFB Makhado outside Louis Trichardt setting up temporary home at the Western Cape base.
Apart from 85 CFS pilots and ground crew, the weapons camp saw SAAF personnel from the Overberg base, the SAAF Test Flight and Development Centre (TFDC) and 18 Deployment Support Unit (DSU), based at Air Force Mobile Deployment Wing (AF MDW – previously AFB Swartkop), involved. Search and rescue capabilities were the responsibility of BK117s from Air Force Station (AFS) Port Elizabeth’s 15 Squadron Charlie Flight.
Two of the seven Hawks tasked for the weapons camp were the designated “flag towers” each trailing a 10×2 metre white mesh flag 500 metres astern as a target. The five remaining fighter trainers fitted with 30 mm Aden cannons using colour-coded rounds for scoring attempted as many hits as possible during sorties over the sea. The colour-coded rounds showed hits clearly on the mesh flag. The SAAF did not supply information on the accuracy of its Hawk pilots at the camp.
The camp, officially the 85 Combat Flying School Air-to-Air Weapons Camp and formally a combat training exercise, allowed Hawk pilots to sharpen their air-to-ground skills by way of live fire, long range, precision bombing missions on the SA Army Combat Training Centre (CTC), 950 nautical miles (1 100km by road) away. Mk 81 bombs and high explosive (HE) rounds were used on these sorties during the SA Army division level exercise Vuk’uhlome III at the 158 000 ha training area in November.
In a further test of pilot skills, provision was made for air combat manoeuvres (ACM). Air combat drill and sea survival, including hoisting and dinghy drills, were integral to this component of the camp.
Operational excellence and combat readiness were the raison d’etre for the Overberg exercise, the SAAF said in a statement via the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) Directorate Corporate Communication (DCC).
Strategic collaboration with TFDC was seen as vital to maintaining advanced training capabilities, and technical support by 18 DSU useful in moving essential equipment and parts to Overberg. The exercise showed what the Hawk Mk 120 is capable of, demonstrating the aircraft’s versatility as a trainer and light attack platform.
The SAAF, as per the DCC statement, does not currently envisage further 85 CFS weapons camps in the current financial year with planning for future combat training exercises ongoing.
“Similar training camps for 2 Squadron, operating Gripen aircraft, are being considered. Scheduling will depend on operational priorities and availability of resources,” according to the statement.
