The South African Air Force (SAAF) is the air warfare branch of South African National Defence Force, with its headquarters in Pretoria. The South African Air Force was established on 1 February 1920. The Air Force saw service in World War II and the Korean War. From 1966, the SAAF was involved in providing infantry support in the low-intensity Border War in Angola, South-West Africa and Rhodesia. As the war progressed, the intensity of air operations increased, until in the late 1980s when the SAAF were compelled to fly fighter missions against Angolan aircraft in order to maintain tactical air superiority. On conclusion of the Border War in 1990, aircraft numbers were severely reduced due to economic pressures as well as the cessation of hostilities with neighbouring states.
Centurion is an area with 236,580 inhabitants in the Gauteng Province of South Africa, between Pretoria and Midrand. Formerly an independent municipality, with its own town council, it has been part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality since 2000. Its heart is at the intersection of the N1 and N14 freeways. The R21 freeway also passes through the eastern part of Centurion.
41 Squadron is a light transport squadron of the South African Air Force. It was formed in 1940, it is currently based at AFB Waterkloof.
Air Force Base Waterkloof {AFB Wklf} is an airbase of the South African Air Force. It is situated on the outskirts of Pretoria, and is the SAAF's busiest airbase. The base's name means "water ravine" in Afrikaans and in Dutch. Despite the name, this base is not located in the suburban town of Waterkloof, Pretoria, but lies to the south of Pretoria, 4.34 nmi (8.04 km) to the northeast of Centurion, Gauteng and 3.37 nmi (6.24 km) from AFB Swartkop, at an elevation of 1506 metres (4940 ft).
Aero India is a biennial air show and aviation exhibition held in Bengaluru, India, at the Yelahanka Air Force Station. It is organised by the Defence Exhibition Organisation, Ministry of Defence.
The following lists events that happened during 2002 in South Africa.
Waterkloof is an affluent suburb of the city of Pretoria in the Gauteng province of South Africa, located to the east of the city centre. It is named after the original farm that stood there when Pretoria was founded in the 19th Century.
The ILA Berlin Air Show combines a major trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries with a public airshow. It is held every even year at the new Berlin ExpoCenter Airport next to the Berlin Brandenburg Airport in Schönefeld, Brandenburg 18 km southeast of Berlin, Germany. The most recent ILA Berlin Air Show was held in June 2024.
The Singapore Airshow is a biennial aerospace event held in Singapore, which debuted in 2008. It hosts high-level government and military delegations, as well as senior corporate executives around the world, while serving as a global event for leading aerospace companies and budding players to make their mark in the international aerospace and defence market.
Denel Aeronautics is the aviation and aerospace division of the state-owned Denel corporation of South Africa. It is one of the successors of the South African aviation company Atlas Aircraft Corporation.
Air Force Base Swartkop is South Africa's oldest air force base and houses the South African Air Force Museum. It is managed as part of AFB Waterkloof and houses one of the three branches of the South African Air Force Museum. The name of the air force base, Swartkop means Black hill in Afrikaans.
The Albuquerque Air Defense Sector (AADS) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was briefly active between 1 January and 1 November 1960, assigned to the 33d Air Division at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. The sector was responsible for the air defense of New Mexico and most of Texas, and was inactivated as a result of a shift towards ballistic missile defense.
3 Squadron SAAF was a squadron of the South African Air Force. It was formed in January 1939 at Air Force Base Waterkloof and was equipped with Hawker Hartbees I and Hurricane Mk II aircraft. The squadron was moved to Port Elizabeth in September 1939 after which it was disbanded. It was again reformed at Waterkloof on 9 September 1940 equipped with Hurricane Mk 1s.
The Rand Show, previously known as the Rand Easter Show, is an annual show held in Johannesburg, South Africa, and is the largest consumer exhibition in Southern Africa. It has been an important event in the city for many years, attracting in excess of 400,000 visitors in 2007. It was also called the Grand Rand Show, when it was held a few weeks outside of Easter in the late 1980s.
Paramount Group is a Global Aerospace & Defence group of companies operating in the global defence, internal security and peacekeeping industries. Established in South Africa in 1994, it offers a range of military aircraft, armoured vehicles, maritime systems, equipment and training to governments.
42 Squadron SAAF is a disbanded squadron of the South African Air Force, active from 1945 to 2000. The squadron's main role was to spot enemy artillery. The unit was formed in 1945 as 42 AOP Flight, flying Austers under command of an officer of the SA Artillery and was the only army aviation unit flying for South African forces during World War II.
The Air Force Cross, post-nominal letters CA, is a South African military decoration which was instituted by the Republic of South Africa in 1987. It was awarded to members of the South African Air Force for bravery. The decoration was discontinued in 2003, but backdated awards can still be made for acts of bravery during this period.
The Ad Astra Decoration, post-nominal letters AAD, was instituted by the Republic of South Africa in 1991, to reward South African Air Force aircrew members on board aircraft for excellent airmanship or outstanding ingenuity or skill during emergencies or critically unusual situations in the air. It was discontinued in 2003, but backdated awards can still be made for acts performed during the period in effect.
The Denel SARA is a projected 24-passenger turboprop regional airliner with rough field capabilities. The project was announced at the Africa Aerospace and Defence exhibition in September 2014, by the state-owned defence industrial group Denel. The project has a goal of permitting landings at fields with runways shorter than 1,000m, of which there are more than 460 in South Africa alone.
