Page 22 - World Airnews September 2020 Edition

FEATURE

for liaison tasks, one being shot down by own forces in error, and When the war wound down after 1988, the SAAF was just bringing

there was one unsuccessful strike by Canberras. into service the Cheetah E strike fighter and Cheetah D two-seater

In 1978, however, the Defence Force went over to pre-emptive (upgraded Mirage IIIEZs and DZs), Boeing 707 tanker/EW aircraft and

operations, striking several Swapo bases in Angola in May, including the Oryx helicopter. In development were the Cheetah C multi-role

at Cassinga 250 km inside the country. Buccaneers and Canberras fighter, the Rooivalk attack helicopter and a number of guided weap-

hit the base before C-130s and C-160s deployed paratroops, with ons. There was also a project to fit a modified MiG29 engine into

Mirages on station as protection. the Mirage F1 and the Cheetah, and one to develop a local fighter,
project Carver. Most projects were stopped for lack of funding, and

A ‘helicopter administrative area’ was established to the south, the SAAF once again scaled down, phasing out most types.
from where Pumas and Super Frelons launched to lift out the The Strategic Defence Packages of 1999 then brought good news

paratroops, refuel and fly back to Namibia. The bases closer to the

border were also bombed before ground forces attacked them. with the acquisition of Gripen Cs and Ds to replace the Cheetah,

Hawk Mk 120s to replace the Impalas, A-109s to replace the Alou-
A series of pre-emptive operations followed from 1981 onwards, ette III and four Super Lynx to operate from the Navy’s frigates.

the SAAF flying reconnaissance and strike missions with Mirages, Meanwhile the Oryx was brought into service and finally also the

Buccaneers, Canberras and Impalas, with Alouette III gunships Rooivalk, albeit without its Mokopa missile.
providing close support and Pumas carrying troops for air assaults

and to deploy stopper groups. Improving enemy air defences led After a few quiet years, the SAAF’s C-130s became busier from

the SAAF to develop new techniques and weapons. 2001, deploying and supporting SANDF contingents in Burundi,
Central African Republic, Comoros, Darfur and DRC. Oryx were
One technique was to fly very low to remain below radar cover-

age; another was ‘long toss’ bombing, later using boosted bombs deployed in Lesotho, Burundi and Comoros and more recently in
the DRC together with the Rooivalk. The SAAF also played a key
for greater stand-off. Among the weapons were SS-30 missiles role in supporting elections in the DRC in 2011, deploying C-130s,

adapted for use as anti-radar weapons, first used in 1981, and C-47TPs and Oryx and organising chartered aircraft for delivery

the H2 guided glide bomb, was used against the Cuito Cuanavale and collection of ballot papers and boxes.

bridge in 1988. The SAAF has also participated in several SADC exercises and in

The SAAF Air Defence Artillery Group (ADAG) also saw em- exercises with the German Navy and Air Force, the French Navy

ployment, deploying with Special Forces to conduct successful and the Brazilian, Uruguayan and Indian navies. There have also
anti-aircraft ambushes deep inside Angola, using captured SAM-7s been visits by fighters of the Belgian, Indian, Russian and US Air

and SAM-9/13s. Forces, during which the SAAF acquitted itself very well, as it did

During the last campaign in southern Angola the SAAF faced a with Gripens during Exercise Lion Effort in Sweden in 2012.

mix of air defence systems almost identical in its make up to those After the fighting in Bangui in March 2013, the SAAF quickly

encountered by allied forces in Iraq in 1991. Those systems however deployed Rooivalk and Oryx helicopters to Gemena in the DRC,
were only able to account for one Bosbok, one Mirage F1AZ and Gripens to Kinshasa and C-130s with a parachute combat team to
some UAVs. Entebbe, to be on standby should the fighting continue.

The greater problem was that the battlefield was so far north of A good, even outstanding, track record over a century under

the border that the SAAF Mirage F1s had very little time on station often difficult circumstances. But today the SAAF is again throttled

and no effective radar cover. by the tight fist of the Treasury, with too little money to fly enough

The opposing MiG-21s and 23s had ample fuel and radar cover, to keep pilots in top form or to maintain all of its aircraft, let alone

and the MiG-23s also had the advantage of having a head-on missile fill gaps such as maritime patrol or to replace obsolete types. That

capability, which led to one F1CZ being damaged. The ADAG de- said, the SAAF continues to do the job every time it is called upon

ployed with Cactus SAMs, SAM-9/13s and 23 mm cannon and seems and does it well; and it has survived financial strangulation three

to have damaged at least one aircraft. times in the past. Q

Piaggio P166 Albatross Mirage 111CZ
SAAF RESCUE OPERATIONS Channel by C-160s to rescue the crew of a ship aground on the
SAAF helicopter crews have conducted impressive and danger- Bassas da India reef; the 1982 rescue of a seaman from the

ous rescue missions over the years. Best known are the rescue of Sedco 702 rig off the Cunene mouth, a Super Frelon deploying
14 700 people during the heavy floods in Mozambique in 2000 2 300 km from Cape Town via Alexander Bay, Walvis Bay and

and the rescue of passengers and crew of the liner Oceanos Terrace Bay; and the 1991 2 129 km round trip by two Pumas,
in 1991. A few others that stand out are the 1966 delivery of refuelling at Beira, to rescue an injured seaman from a ship in

emergency supplies to Marion Island by a Shackleton; the 1980 the Mozambique Channel. They have also flown some very

deployment of Pumas to Europa Island in the Mozambique ‘interesting’ missions in Antarctica.
World Airnews | September 2020
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