By Pieter van der Sandt South Africa has one of Africa's richest aviation histories: a story of pioneering flights, wartime courage, ingenuity, and an enduring fascination with flight. It survives in museum aircraft and private hangars, but also in fading photographs, logbooks, letters and personal memories. Too much of that history, however, remains scattered and vulnerable. Important collections are often held privately and known only to a small circle of enthusiasts. When

Embraer’s C-390 Millennium has added another flag to its growing list of international operators, with Uzbekistan taking delivery of its first aircraft on 25 September. The handover, conducted at Embraer’s facility in Gavião Peixoto, Brazil, makes Uzbekistan the first C-390 operator in Central Asia and represents another significant step in the Brazilian manufacturer’s increasingly successful assault on the medium military transport market. The aircraft was formally handed ov

South Korea has taken a major step into the increasingly crowded world of indigenous fighter-aircraft development, with the Republic of Korea Air Force formally receiving its first production KF-21 Boramae on 22 September. The aircraft, serial 26-001, was accepted from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) at its Sacheon facility before being flown to Yecheon Air Base, marking the beginning of a new chapter for a programme that has taken more than a decade to reach this point. The

By Garth Calitz Photos by Esias Riekert, Trevor Cohen and Rayno Snyman For two days, AFB Waterkloof once again became the centre of the South African aviation universe as Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) 2026 opened its gates to the public for the biennial airshow. After three days focused on the defence industry, aerospace technology, business and government delegations, Saturday and Sunday belonged to the enthusiasts. While the aircraft and military hardware were undoubt

Dassault Aviation has taken another step towards integrating artificial intelligence into the fighter cockpit, flight-testing two sovereign AI algorithms aboard a Rafale as France develops increasingly capable combat systems designed to support, rather than replace, the human operator. Dassault Aviation has flight-tested two new artificial intelligence algorithms aboard a Rafale fighter, marking a significant step in the French manufacturer's programme to introduce sovereign

By Garth Calitz Despite the presence of cutting-edge technology at AAD 2026, including autonomous aircraft, advanced unmanned systems, and next-generation weapons and sensors, one of the exhibition's oldest attractions, the Mini War, still captivates the audience. The battlefield demonstration once again will bring together ground troops, armour, artillery and aviation assets in a fast-moving display designed to demonstrate how the South African National Defence Force can com

Angola is taking another step into the rapidly evolving world of unmanned aviation, with the delivery of six ANAVIA HT-100 NAVAL unmanned helicopters for its new generation of naval corvettes. The six aircraft, built by Swiss manufacturer ANAVIA, have completed Factory Acceptance Trials and have been handed over to the Angolan Navy. Two systems will eventually be carried by each of Angola’s three new BR71 MK II Combattante-class corvettes, providing the ships with an organic

By Garth Calitz The South African Air Force’s (SAAF) top man will take centre stage at AAD 2026, where Lieutenant General Carl Moatshe will deliver the keynote address on the final day of the conference at Air Force Base Waterkloof. From 16 to 18 September, Africa’s defence chiefs, policymakers, industry executives and assorted people selling solutions to problems that governments have not yet found the money to solve will gather at Waterkloof for the AAD 2026 Conference. The

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