By Garth Calitz Airbus Helicopters and Denel Aerospace have used AAD 2026 to formalise a partnership aimed at strengthening South Africa’s ability to support and sustain the South African Air Force’s helicopter fleet. The two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at AAD 2026, establishing a long-term framework for industrial cooperation that could see greater maintenance, engineering and technical capability anchored in South Africa. At its core, the agreement

Paramount has unveiled its new V-Raven reusable vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aircraft at AAD 2026, presenting a system designed to provide persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), with a development pathway towards light attack. Previously known as the N-Raven, the programme has evolved significantly. Paramount has moved away from the original catapult-launched concept to a returnable VTOL aircraft family that can operate from dispersed

Africa Aerospace and Defence 2026 remains a major international defence exhibition, with companies and official delegations from around the world represented at Air Force Base Waterkloof. But for those who came to see aircraft, there is a noticeable difference this year. Foreign aircraft participation, both on the static ramp and in the air, is considerably lighter than at previous editions of AAD. There are still some welcome international visitors. An Angolan Air Force C-29

By Garth Calitz After years of talking about building a twin, Sling Aircraft is finally turning the dream into aluminium — with the prototype now taking shape in Cape Town and a maiden flight planned for June 2027. South Africa's Sling Aircraft is taking a major step beyond its successful single-engine aircraft with the development of an entirely new twin-engine Sling, a project that the company says has been made possible by a fundamental shift in the regulatory environment.

By Garth Calitz There are airline-manufacturer relationships, and then there are relationships that become so deeply embedded in an airline's operation that separating the two starts to look rather like trying to remove an aircraft engine with a butter knife. Airlink and Embraer fall firmly into the second category. Over more than two decades, the South African regional carrier and Brazilian aircraft manufacturer have developed a relationship that extends well beyond the trad

General Atomics AeroTec Systems (GA-ATS) has brought the iconic twin-turboprop back into production in Germany with the Do228 NXT, an extensively modernised evolution of an aircraft whose combination of STOL performance, ruggedness and versatility has made it a familiar sight in remote and demanding operations around the world. The programme reached a major milestone on 2 May 2026, when the Do228 NXT demonstrator completed its first flight from Oberpfaffenhofen. The flight ca

By Garth Calitz Africa’s aviation industry is entering a period of unprecedented fleet growth, with airlines expected to more than double the number of aircraft operating across the continent over the next two decades. But behind the headline numbers and multi-billion-dollar aircraft orders lies a less glamorous, and potentially more important, question: Where will all those aircraft be maintained? The issue is already becoming visible in South Africa, where regional carrier

By Garth Calitz International flags are everywhere at Africa Aerospace and Defence 2026. There are expected to be delegations from more than 50 countries, hundreds of exhibitors and a considerable international defence industry presence on the ground. So, naturally, you might expect at least a respectable collection of foreign military aircraft to accompany all those international visitors. Well… about that. The AAD 2026 flying programme released yesterday makes for rather in

By Garth Calitz Rumours are circulating ahead of Africa Aerospace and Defence 2026 that a European country could bring an Airbus A400M Atlas to South Africa for this year's show. Nothing has been officially confirmed, and for now the A400M should remain firmly in the "watch this space" category. But if the rumours prove correct, the aircraft's appearance at AFB Waterkloof would carry rather more significance than simply adding another impressive military transport to the stat

By Garth Calitz There are few aircraft that announce their arrival quite like the Airbus A380. It doesn't so much land at an airport as occupy it. Two decks, four engines, a wingspan that makes taxiway planners reach for the antacids and enough seats to transport the entire population of a "platteland" town in one go. When Airbus launched the A380, it wasn't merely building a new airliner. It was making a rather confident prediction about the future of commercial aviation. An