South Africa Armed Forces

SA Navy needs more than three offshore and three inshore patrol vessels - expert
Written by Guy Martin, Friday, 19 June 2015

Although a welcome boost to the South African Navy and local shipbuilding industry, the six new inshore and offshore patrol vessels being acquired under project Biro have been criticised as being too few, with an expert suggesting at least eight offshore patrol vessels are needed to adequately patrol South Africa’s waters.

Defence analyst and former Defence Review committee member Helmoed Romer Heitman has suggested that three offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) are too few. “They are relatively small ships and will be limited in their ability to conduct patrols far from home without either a base or a local support arrangement, or a support ship in company. But they will be a very useful complement to the frigates,” he stated.

However, when it comes to the inshore patrol vessels (IPVs), Heitman is of the opinion that “the three 60 m IPVs now envisaged as part of Biro are an embarrassing misstep by the Navy and will be an entirely pointless expenditure,” because, “at 60 m they will be too large and complex to be the 'cheap and cheerful' equivalent to the old SDPs, to be used for close inshore work and more importantly to train and develop officers and ratings…At 60 m they will be too small to be really useful (the strike craft were good special operations platforms, but had the speed and the self-defence capability these vessels will lack.

“The Navy's experience with the strike craft demonstrated that 60 m is precisely the wrong hull length for SA waters: Shorter and the ride is lively but dry; longer and the ride is more comfortable and dry. At 60 m it is uncomfortable and wet, with real risk of damage in rough seas. Remember how many of the strike craft found themselves inadvertently doing a submarine crash dive imitation in rough seas.

“What we should be doing is increasing the OPV buy to at least four now, with a target - as per all of the previous studies - of twelve. Study of the DR [2014 Defence Review] will show that the absolute minimum number will be eight, accepting some gaps and some tasks falling to the frigates,” Heitman stated.

He suggests that the South African Navy should re-role the three refitted strike craft (and possibly a fourth) for the fast inshore patrol role as they will be able to do what the new IPVs will be able to do and will cost much less to bring to a standard for that role.

Heitman goes on to suggest that the IPV requirement should be revisited to develop a vessel of somewhere around 30 to 40 m, “which will be cheap and simple and good enough for patrolling port environs - and ideal for training.”

MULTI-PURPOSE VESSEL
The 35m Multi-Purpose Vessel (MPV) is a modern high-speed semi displacement vessel, having an optimal V-bottom hull shape, purpose built to the rules and classification of Bureau Veritas. The design is particularly optimized for endurance security patrols and cargo transfer. Located above deck is a mess seating area for members of the crew and passengers, which is utilized during meals and as a social area while on patrol. An enclosed galley and medical bay are located aft of the seating area. The captain and first engineer’s cabins are situated in the forward part of the main deck and have en-suite bathrooms. Crew and security personnel quarters are situated below deck, having six cabins; two (2) two man cabins with en-suite shower and toilet are provided for the senior security personnel.

General Specifications
Hull Aluminium
Description Multi-Purpose Vessel

DIMENSIONS
Length 35m
Beam 7.5m
Draught 1.4m
Displacement (Full Load) 175 Tonnes

PERFORMANCES
Speed @ Cruise 20 Knots
Speed @ Full 28 Knots

CAPACITIES
Fuel Oil 56m.
Fresh Water 10m.
Waste Water 4m.
Crew 6
Passengers (Seated) 4

ELECTRICAL
Power Supply 400VAC
Generators 2x Caterpillar C4.4 107kV

PROPULSION
Engines 3 x Caterpillar C32 ACERT
Power 3 x 1193K w “D” Rated @ 2300rpm
Propulsion 3 x Propellers

SA troops in Sudan feared the worst
2015-06-17 08:38
Pretoria - More than 800 terrified South African soldiers in Sudan feared the worst when their camp was surrounded by Sudanese troops.

"In order to save lives, we would have to have surrendered if they stormed us. One battalion of soldiers without proper weapons could not fight against an entire country's army," a South African soldier told Netwerk24.

Netwerk24 reported on Tuesday that South African peacekeepers in North Darfur were effectively held "hostage" by members of the Sudanese army while the drama around Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir's possible arrest during the African Union summit in Johannesburg escalated. The High Court in Pretoria ordered that Al-Bashir be detained.

It is believed that Al-Bashir was possibly allowed to leave South Africa amid fears of violence against the South African peacekeepers.

"They [the South African troops] would have been overwhelmed. If South Africa had arrested Al-Bashir, they would have been prisoners of war," a friend of a soldier told Netwerk24.

Meanwhile, soldiers, family members and friends of the soldiers serving in Sudan have contradicted the military's "categorical denial" that there was a hostage situation, recounting stories of their loved ones' fears while in the war-torn country.

The army said the "increased military traffic" in Darfur was part of the Sudanese government's preparations for the Ramadan religious celebrations.

Head of joint operations, Lieutenant General Derrick Mgwebi, said the situation had "normalised" and the mobilisation of Sudanese soldiers near the South African base in Khartoum was not aimed at the base.

But a soldier said: "We were so scared - we were surrounded by soldiers. We handed out extra ammunition to everyone in case it was needed."

The deployment apparently began shortly before the weekend, when Al-Bashir left for the AU summit in South Africa.

A friend of a soldier at the base said that they were surrounded by about 500 heavily-armed Sudanese soldiers in Hilux bakkies at about 10:00 on Monday. Al-Bashir's jet took off from Waterkloof air force base at about midday on Monday.

While the court bid to have him arrested continued in Pretoria, the South African soldiers were surrounded. They were placed at Level 2 readiness, which means they had to be battle ready and fully armed.

"They were terrified and overwhelmed. They were basically kept as hostages for the afternoon.

"They could see an attack was imminent. The [Sudanese] soldiers were about 500 metres from their camp. According to their intelligence something would have happened if Al-Bashir was arrested," the source said.

One caller to Power FM said a relative who is serving in Sudan said her camp was "surrounded" by Sudanese soldiers. Another soldier confirmed that they were placed at Level 2 readiness when vehicles approached the base.

"I am so grateful South Africa did not arrest Al-Bashir. Our commander said after Al-Bashir arrived safely in the country, the soldiers withdrew," a message sent by a soldier in Darfur to his colleagues in South Africa read.

According to Netwerk24, approximately 800 South African soldiers are serving in Darfur as part of Unamid, a combined UN and AU peacekeeping force. The current group of soldiers are from 8 Infantry Battalion in Upington.

Meanwhile, the UN has denied that the South African soldiers were in a hostage situation, saying they were never in danger. And a Sudanese army official told Bloomberg that they are not in conflict with the South Africans.

Denel Defence Day Highlights

ADR

Rheinmetall and Denel hosted a ‘Defence Day’, the second of its kind, from 20-23 April. The week showcased their large portfolio of defence systems, weapons, and the bombs, bullets and pyrotechnics that make up the sharp end of fighting. The integration of local and international defence technology has produced some very interesting results. Making full use of the Denel Overberg Test Range to illustrate the long range and accuracy of the munitions, the Defence Day proved an informative event for the defence professional, whether in or out of uniform.

A number of images from the event were posted in part 1 of this feature, for this post we are featuring spectacular video footage taken from a variety of cameras and systems at the test range. This includes slow-motion thermal imaging from the range’s specialised tracking systems as well as extremely rare footage from a Rooivalk’s gun camera.

We would like to thank Denel Overberg Test Range for graciously allowing us to display their footage.

The Al Tariq guided munition in action at the Overberg Test Range. Although demonstrated live during the Defence Day, this footage is from a different live testing. The use of the South African Air Force Hawk and general flight trajectory of the munition is accurate, however.

The in-place detonation of a Mokopa air-to-ground missile warhead in order to display the its armour-penetration characteristics.

The new Badger infantry fighting vehicle, about to enter service with the South African Army, firing its Denel-manufactured GI-30 30mm main cannon. The beginning of the video also shows the Badger in its anti-tank, Ingwe-armed variant.

Denel Aerostructures is ready and willing to support manufacture of a new Rooivalk, and is currently making drop tanks and small components for the existing fleet of 11 serving in the South African Air Force.

Theo Kleynhans, CEO of Denel Aerostructures (DAe), told defenceWeb that if South Africa continues to expand its peacekeeping missions in Africa, there may well be a growing role for the Rooivalk which has proven its operational effectiveness in that arena. Kleynhans confirmed that Denel is in discussions with the South African Air Force on the upgrading of the current Rooivalk baseline and the feasibility of a new Rooivalk Mk II development with an export component.

Kleynhans said that although Denel Aviation is the original equipment manufacturer of the Rooivalk, airframe design and production would typically take place at Denel Aerostructures. Denel is however looking for co-development and co-manufacturing with partner countries to further develop Rooivalk exportability.

In order to get ready for relaunched production, DAe would modify the existing jigs and use better, newer and more elegant ways to produce the aircraft and would move the blueprint drawings to CATIA software.

DAe is still producing drop tanks for the Rooivalk and other parts from time to time as needed such as brackets and other components – the company provides on-going Rooivalk engineering support with seven to eight people working on the programme.

Denel Aerostructures will manufacture ten drop tanks this year on new equipment with production ceasing at around 20. Kleynhans said drop tank production restarted in June last year.

The Rooivalk drop tank is 3.45 metres long, .64 metres in diameter, and has a fuel capacity of 550 litres. It weighs 51.5 kg empty and 496 kg full. The centre section is made of metal while the nose and tail section and being made from composite materials. Lightening protection was designed into the tank for all weather operation.

flamming_python wrote:Really digging SA gear in general.

What they did with the Mi-24 made it the meanest looking of the bunch.

Denel Dynamics will conduct missile flight tests of its new Marlin missile system in September and November this year ahead of a first guided test flight in November 2016, where it will be demonstrated against a moving target.

At the moment Denel Dynamics is working on a technology demonstrator missile, and plans to conduct a fly-over test in September and a seeker head test in November, according to Jaco Botha, Chief Programme Manager.

The 80-100 kilometre range Marlin radar-guided air-to-air missile is being developed by Denel Dynamics under an Armscor/Department of Defence technology demonstrator contract. Denel Dynamics will be using a dual pulse rocket motor on the Marlin (this uses two fuel chambers and one exhaust nozzle) for extended range.

Ultimately Denel Dynamics aims to combine the Marlin and A-Darter missiles into a multirole airborne weapons system containing infrared and radar seekers and most likely with a ram rocket motor. This would be realised in around a decade’s time.

Marlin can also be configured into an all-weather surface-to-air missile. Common subsystems will be used for the different variants of the weapon, with some components derived from the A-Darter and Denel’s Umkhonto surface-to-air missile.

Although Marlin is fully funded by the Department of Defence via Armscor, Denel Dynamics is looking for an international partner to collaborate with during the future development programme. The company said it is currently talking to a few interested parties.

Denel Dynamics is also busy with the final qualification of the A-Darter fifth generation infrared guided air-to-air missile, which has been integrated onto the South African Air Force’s Gripen aircraft and is being integrated onto its Hawks. Going forward, the company wants to do incremental upgrades on the A-Darter, including a mid-life update.

Mir wrote:RT is still suffering from DOS attacks but I saw today that the CDC has significantly altered it's covid related death toll amongst the youth - something like a 25% reduction. The Empire of Lies probably realized that their fake figures don't really add up all that well.

andalusia wrote:
I know this is definitely off topic but since I see that you are from South Africa, what the devil has happened to the great South African Navy? It is a dirty shame that these submarines are not being used an are rusting away.  Seems like Iran could use these subs to improve their navy.

Our once thriving defense industry is dead and buried.

GarryB wrote:

Our once thriving defense industry is dead and buried.

Well that is the sad thing... you really did have a defence industry that was quite respectable if it had government support and a good level fair market... a bit like Serbia really...

If you want to create a thread to chat about it I can move these posts if you want.

Mir wrote:

GarryB wrote:

Our once thriving defense industry is dead and buried.

Well that is the sad thing... you really did have a defence industry that was quite respectable if it had government support and a good level fair market... a bit like Serbia really...

If you want to create a thread to chat about it I can move these posts if you want.

Somewhere in the future I would like to create a thread on the SADF/SANDF but for now I think you can just leave it here - or you can just delete it. Thanks GarryB.

Mir wrote:

andalusia wrote:
I know this is definitely off topic but since I see that you are from South Africa, what the devil has happened to the great South African Navy? It is a dirty shame that these submarines are not being used an are rusting away.  Seems like Iran could use these subs to improve their navy.

Not just the navy. The whole of the SANDF is a joke with the possible exception of the special forces and paras. The Airforce is practically grounded except (naturally) for the VIP squadron. The whole post-apartheid arms deal was one big bribery scam. I was at the arms expo - just in time to see the furious Russians packing their bags.

Prior to that we had a very promising deal to re-engine our Mirage F1's and the R-73 was successfully tested. Would have been a lot cheaper option than the Gripens! Practically all the Army's equipment dates from the apartheid era and are way beyond their "expiry date". Our once thriving defense industry is dead and buried.

Mir wrote:Some of the African militaries are actually quite good and fairly well equipped. A lot of foreign countries provide adequate training as well like the French, Chinese and Americans. However the big issue is mostly due to corruption and the long history of military coups in Africa. In most countries the political leadership prefer a strong police force rather than a strong military but there are exceptions. We in South Africa neither have a adequate police force nor and adequate military - mostly due to corruption and has very little to do with tribal traditions.

andalusia wrote:How does the Rooivalk attack helicopter compare to the Best Russian attack helicopters and is it still being manufactured?