Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and drones will, for the first time, be flown at the upcoming 2022 biennial Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) Expo, while the attendance of private-sector oil and gas, mining and energy companies will represent a “significant presence”.

In addition to the economic and logistical impact that Covid-19 had on the global aerospace and defence industries, the pandemic also forced the expo to be deferred from 2020 until this year.

AAD executive committee chairperson Sandile Ndlovu states that this year’s event – to be held from September 21 to 25 at the Waterkloof Air Force Base, in Pretoria – has many new additions, including the most diverse range of trade visitors.

The event, similar to the way in which it was organised before Covid-19, will consist of a five-day show, including three trade-show days, from September 21 to September 23, as well as two open days on September 24 and 25. The open days will include live flight demonstrations.

“We made a deliberate decision to diversify the show. Past editions were extensively pro-defence, while many companies have now moved into producing goods that are applicable to many sectors. We’re actively pursuing oil and gas companies from countries such as Nigeria, Ghana and Algeria,” explains Ndlovu.

Flight Days, UAVs and Drones

Ndlovu states that the AAD Expo previously had challenges in terms of having drones and UAVs flown at the event, particularly as the event is held at a national security point.

Consequently, stringent regulations regarding airspace prevented the full display of the capabilities of drone and UAV technologies.

“This year, we’ve reached an agreement with government so that we will create a drone corridor, where drones and UAVs can take off and land without jeopardising the security.

“Once this was agreed, it was simple to grant us permission. This decision was also influenced by the fact that the UAV sector is one of the largest and fastest-growing subsectors of the aerospace and defence industries.”

Ndlovu adds that not all drones and UAVs flown at the event will be used for defence applications.

Drones are often used for applications in, for example, surveillance and crop-spraying in agriculture, as well as delivering medicines and items in remote areas.

This range of applications has encouraged the AAD organisers to invite government departments, such as the departments of Health, and of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development. This is in addition to State-owned enterprises, such as Transnet and Eskom, to consider this range of applications for infrastructure development and monitoring.

“This has allowed for the AAD event to become more diverse and competitive. There are events that focus exclusively on exhibiting drones, so if we are the first expo to actually demonstrate the capabilities of drones and UAVs and not just exhibit them, it enables us to close off any potential competition. This bodes well for the growth of the AAD event,” Ndlovu enthuses.

Private-Sector Presence

Ndlovu highlights the deteriorating security situation in Mozambique, where there has been ongoing conflict pitting Islamists and jihadists against Mozambican security forces in the Cabo Delgado province.

To assist with this security situation, privately owned companies invested in the province provided resources to government to procure security equipment and technology.

This emphasises that “there is a lot of purchasing power in the private sector”, he contends.

Defence industries have often relied on governments to buy security and defence equipment; however, for governments of developing countries, such as South Africa’s and Mozambique’s, economic challenges have severely constrained their ability to procure these resources, he adds.

Through the AAD Expo’s inviting private- sector companies to the event, AAD exhibitors will be directly introduced to potential buyers of defence and security solutions that generally would not be considered in the past.

“If you are a defence and aerospace company, you don’t need to attend different exhibitions for a range of industrial sectors – we will bring them to you. They have the resources, and their procurement processes are often simpler than those of governments. The event will grow in terms of not only exhibitors but also procurement opportunities introduced to the event,” says Ndlovu.

SANDF and Aviation Challenges

The South African defence industry’s primary client is the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), and challenges within the SANDF and government’s ability to support procurement have made it more difficult for local defence and aerospace companies to export.

“We exist to serve our local client first, but because of the challenges that government is going through in terms of the ability to procure what we are producing, we have found ourselves looking to be more export- orientated. If we could, we would prefer that the SANDF consumes 90% of what the industry produces, and the rest is exported to foreign clients,” adds Ndlovu.

While the local defence industry has had to shift its focus more to exporting defence and aerospace technologies, this presents challenges because foreign countries and companies are reluctant to procure defence and aerospace technologies from companies whose technology is not used by the defence force in that same country, he explains.

“We have world-class equipment produced locally, but a lot of it isn’t used by the SANDF. This presents challenges for foreign clients who often rely on governments as references. The AAD enables the SANDF to see what is available in the local space when they have the required funds, and also what other technologies would be available from foreign companies to complement our local industry.”

The AAD organisers hope to use this year’s AAD Expo as a platform to engage with the SANDF to encourage more consistent procurement from local suppliers.

Meanwhile, the South African aviation industry has been affected by the two-year suspension of local airline Mango’s air service licence, and airline Comair’s being placed in provisional liquidation, with its flights grounded in June this year.

“There are service providers that serviced those airlines, so when the airlines go out of business, the whole value chain becomes affected. We are looking to bring in experience and capital in the sector, possibly restructure the sector so that it becomes more attractive to investors, and create opportunities for small, medium-sized and microenterprises to play a meaningful role,” Ndlovu explains.

He also stresses the need for government to become involved in assisting these sectors to help local companies access trade opportunities outside South Africa, particularly in the rest of Africa, as these sectors have high entry barriers.

Youth Development Programme

A Youth Development Programme (YDP) will again be incorporated into the AAD event to get young learners interested in the aviation and defence industries.

“We rely on students who are in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, and South Africa has a skills deficit in this area. We’ve been fortunate that previous Defence Ministers have been passionate about the YDP, and current Defence Minister Thandi Modise is no different. The YDP ensures continuity of these sectors by introducing younger people,” notes Ndlovu.

While the YDP has often focused on Grade 11 and 12 learners, he stresses the importance of appealing to and assisting younger learners in acquiring STEM-related skills.

Therefore, the programme will now also focus on incorporating Grade 7 and 8 learners to encourage them to take an interest in these sectors.

The YDP will donate scientific calculators and technology dictionaries to assist learners in the programme.

In addition to the R250 000 that has been raised for the YDP this year, many of the items, such as scientific calculators, have been donated by the US Embassy and the National Youth Development Agency. This pushes the total financial value of all donations to the YDP to about R500 000.

“The YDP runs throughout the two years in between the AAD expos. Previously, the YDP was run in all provinces, but this time, owing to financial constraints, it’ll just be limited to the Gauteng area, unless we can get partners that would be willing to bring in learners from other remote parts of the country.”

Conferences

Three conferences will be held during the AAD event.

Ndlovu emphasises that exhibitions are “venturing into a space of thought leadership”, and that the event provides an ideal platform for thought leaders in the defence and aerospace industries.

The organisers engaged with the University of Stellenbosch’s Military Academy, in the Western Cape, to assist with hosting the conferences alongside the AAD event.

There will be a medical conference, a general conference focusing on aviation, and a conference on counterterrorism and developments in Africa.

“The bulk of exhibitors are going to be South African and African defence and aerospace stakeholders and companies. They’re going to exhibit in large numbers, as it’s an opportunity for them to showcase their capabilities in a cost-effective environment and reach a broader audience.

“The AAD is also an attractive proposition for European and non-European companies,” Ndlovu concludes.