Defense and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise said her department hopes to soon publicly announce a partnership with Embraer do Brasil in manufacturing and repairing aircraft in South Africa.
Modise spoke Tuesday, May 23, in Parliament during the debate on the defense budget vote. “We hope to be able to publicly announce soon … the partnership with Embraer do Brasil to manufacture and repair in South Africa. It would be a boost for our defense industry. It will also allow us to force our own government to provide more money,” she said.
His comments come two weeks after the commander of the Brazilian Air Force, Lieutenant Brigadier Marcelo Kanitz Damasceno, told the Brazilian Senate’s Committee on Foreign Affairs and National Defense that Brazil is negotiating with several countries over the sale of the Embraer KC tactical transport aircraft. 390 millennium, including South Africa.
Damasceno said South Africa, as well as Austria, the Czech Republic, Egypt, India, Rwanda, South Korea and Sweden are potential buyers of the KC390, which has already been purchased by Brazil, Hungary and Portugal.
The KC390 can carry up to 26 tons of cargo at a maximum speed of up to (850 km/h). The range is 6,000 km.
In February, the Treasury Department granted the South African Air Force (SAAF) an additional billion rand to renew the SAAF’s “average airlift capacity”. The funds will be spent on the remaining six C130BZ Hercules in the fleet (SAAF had nine serviceable examples, but two were lost in accidents and one was cannibalized for spares).
In January, SAAF chief Lt. Gen. Wiseman Mbambo said: “As we move forward, medium transport capability is the focus of our attention.” In addition, there is much talk about strategic transport capability. It’s no surprise why this feature is mentioned. The reality we face is that South Africa is not in a strategic position. Our location cannot be changed. We need very strong legs to connect to the rest of the continent and the world.”
The SAAF spends millions of rand chartering aircraft to rotate troops and equipment from the DRC and Mozambique due to a lack of transport aircraft in adequate flight condition.
In his debate speech on the budget vote, Modise gave no further details on the cooperation with Embraer. She mentioned that the head of the SANDF (South African National Defense Force) “was charged with finding ways to rejuvenate the SANDF.” It’s not just about recruiting staff, it’s about looking at systems, Updating and innovating skills and finding ways to preserve and sustain them.”
SOURCE: defensiveweb.co.za