Latest news with #Gripens
TimesLIVE
08-05-2025
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Serious introspection needed by SANDF leadership after DRC withdrawal: Analysts
The assertion by defence and military veterans minister Angie Motshekga that deployed members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) have the necessary support in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been widely disputed, and has prompted calls for a rethink of the SANDF. Motshekga last month answered a parliamentary question posed by MK Party MP Brian Molefe, who wanted to know to what extent the budget cuts in the department of defence have contributed to the lack of serviceable equipment, particularly the lack of fighter jets and helicopters, in the DRC. Her reply read: 'Budget cuts for the DoD has an impact/effect on the modernisation and renewal of prime mission equipment. However, the deployed soldiers have the necessary equipment and supplies.' African Defence Review director Darren Olivier called her response 'another example of the lack of accountability and willingness to deal with reality'. He said the minister 'has a very different understanding of 'necessary' to what the rest of us do'. Olivier said 10 or 20 years ago, the SANDF could have provided a much stronger level of capability for a mission like the Southern African Development Community Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC), including significant well-tested air power assets like Rooivalks and Gripens. 'Things have deteriorated so badly that those capabilities are now marginal at best.' When the Rooivalk was first deployed against M23 rebels in the DRC in 2013, the rebels ceased fighting within a week. Now the SA Air Force has no Rooivalks in the DRC, having brought back its three airframes in December 2024 after they had been grounded for years. This meant the SAAF had no air support during the Battle of Goma in January/February. Experts, political parties and other organisations have all pointed to a lack of support and resources as being one of the main reasons for the death of 14 SANDF soldiers at the hands of M23 rebels in Goma and Sake in late January. Gen Bantu Holomisa, deputy minister of defence and military veterans, in January when asked about support — particularly air support — for SANDF troops in the DRC, said: 'There's no support. We have been asking the department of finance to give us money so that we can service the air force. So it's not adequate at all.' Also in January, chairperson of parliament's portfolio committee on defence and military veterans (PCDMV) Dakota Legoete, said, 'We are becoming a joke because we are just about to create a security lapse and it's not on. We are calling on Treasury to stop their austerity measures when it comes to defence and allow us to defend the nation and defend the continent.' Dr Jakkie Cilliers, head of African futures and innovation at the Institute for Security Studies, told the SABC that 'very clearly the SANDF is among others overstretched ... the SANDF forces don't have a logistic, air and other support. Many of their vehicles and equipment are no longer serviceable.' 'The combination of budget cuts, resource limitations, and the complex nature of the conflict raises questions about the SANDF's ability to effectively achieve its objectives, and ensure the safety of its personnel,' Lindy Heinecken, professor of sociology in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Stellenbosch University, wrote earlier this year about the deaths of SANDF soldiers in the DRC. On March 13, the SAMIDRC mandate was ended, and troops and equipment from all three troop contributing nations (South Africa, Tanzania, and Malawi) is being returned home, after being routed by land through Rwanda to a staging ground in Tanzania. 'The thing that worries me most about how the South African government is spinning this outcome as a successful one is that I expect it will mean there will be no urgency to fix the deep structural issues and severe underfunding of the SANDF, and that things will only get worse,' Olivier said, in reference to the SANDF suggesting its withdrawal from the now terminated SAMIDRC mission was a positive outcome as it led to peace talks. Fighting between M23 rebels and DRC government forces continues. 'Trying to spin this positively, rather than acknowledging the failure and learning from it, is a disgrace,' Olivier believes. 'For the stability of the region Sadc needs to be able to provide credible and effective military intervention forces, and SAMIDRC's failure should be triggering deep reflection on how to rebuild that capability. At the core of that must be a real and urgent plan to rebuild the SANDF.' Defence expert Dean Wingrin said some serious introspection is required by the SANDF, the DoD and senior politicians. 'Will they acknowledge the truth and learn from it? We'll see ...'
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Swedish fighter jets on NATO patrol in Poland scramble for first time due to Russian aircraft
Swedish Gripen fighter jets, which began patrolling NATO airspace from Poland in April, have been scrambled for the first time due to the presence of a Russian military aircraft. Source: NATO Air Command on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda Details: The Swedish Gripens, deployed for NATO airspace patrol from Poland and based in Malbork near Gdańsk, carried out their first flight. Quote: "For the first time under NATO's enhanced Air Policing, Swedish Gripen scramble in response to Russian aircraft close to NATO airspace." Details: NATO Air Command also added that the work of the Swedish pilots, who are on duty alongside British forces, demonstrates "seamless integration". Background: In April, Swedish fighter jets began patrolling NATO airspace from Poland for the first time since Sweden joined the Alliance. On the morning of 24 April, Poland scrambled its air force in response to a Russian missile attack on Ukraine, which has become standard procedure in such situations. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NATO's newest ally is sending its Gripen jets made for war with Russia out to patrol alliance borders for the first time
Sweden is deploying its Gripen fighter jets on a NATO air defense mission for the first time. The jets were designed to fight Russia and will now be used in Polish skies. Sweden joined NATO in response to Russian aggression, specifically the invasion of Ukraine. NATO's newest member is deploying a fighter jet that is designed for a fight with Russia to protect alliance borders for the first time. Sweden's armed forces said that six of its Jas 39 Gripen fighter aircraft landed at an air base in Malbork, Poland, on Wednesday to join an alliance airspace surveillance mission. NATO said this is the first time Sweden's combat aircraft have participated in the alliance's "enhanced Air Policing mission" from within another ally's airspace since it joined in March 2024. It previously had only taken part in NATO air policing missions over its own territory, as only a partner nation. Sweden, along with its neighbor Finland, broke with decades of neutrality to join NATO, citing Russia's invasion of Ukraine as their motivation for seeking membership. That was an unintended effect of Russian President Vladimir Putin's brutal war, a stated reason for which was to limit the expansion of the NATO alliance. These countries built their militaries with a threat from Russia in mind, and the Gripen was one such project. The jets, made by Swedish aerospace and defense company Saab AB, were specifically built to counter Russia. The then-commander of Sweden's air force, Mats Helgesson, said in 2019 that the Gripen was "designed to kill Sukhois," a type of Russian jet. Gripens can function from civilian roads rather than expensive runways at fixed airfields that can be targeted. Russia has targeted that kind of infrastructure during the war. It also requires less maintenance than some other aircraft, like the US-made F-16s that are widely available in a number of NATO arsenals. Michael Bohnert, a warfare analyst at the RAND Corporation said that the Gripen's flexibility makes it "much better for a country that's bordering an aggressor." Poland, which is located next to Ukraine, sees itself very much as a front-line NATO ally. Warfare experts, for these reasons, point to the Gripen as the best available fourth-gen fit of all NATO aircraft for Ukraine. Sweden has not pledged any, though it has explored the idea. Pål Jonson, Sweden's defense minister, told Business Insider last month that he was "having a dialogue" with Ukraine and other countries in the Air Force Coalition, a group of allies committed to helping Ukraine. He said that it's "more challenging for the Ukrainians to absorb another fighter." Ukraine has already received American-made F-16 and French Mirages, so Sweden, the defense minister said, has been advised to focus on sending airborne sensor platforms that can provide command and control support. Despite the praise these jets receive, Sweden's Gripens have not seen the type of combat that they would in Ukraine. Nor have they experienced what they would face in a Russian war against the NATO alliance. But Europe is preparing for such a scenario. Watching the invasion, much of Europe, particularly the countries close to Russia like Poland and Sweden, is preparing for a potential conflict with Russia. Many NATO allies are increasing defense spending and manufacturing, forging defense agreements between countries, and holding larger NATO exercises. Poland and Sweden are among Ukraine's biggest international partners and are among the countries warning the loudest that Russia could attack elsewhere in Europe. Sweden gave citizens a booklet that advised them how to prepare for war, and its defense minister last year warned that even though Russia's forces were "tied up in Ukraine," Russia "poses a threat to Sweden, as it does to the rest of NATO." He said that Sweden "cannot rule out a Russian attack on our country." Poland has also given multiple warnings, including its foreign minister saying he would not be surprised if Russia attacked his country. The two countries are both among NATO's biggest spenders on defense. Poland spends the highest proportion of its GDP on defense of any member, including the US, and Sweden exceeds the 2% of GDP on defense guideline that NATO set. Sweden's Gripen jets will be deployed in Poland from April along with some of the UK Royal Air Force's Eurofighter Typhoons, NATO said. NATO describes its "enhanced Air Policing mission" as a peacetime mission that was introduced in 2014 after Russia illegally annexed the Crimea region of Ukraine. The alliance said its air power efforts since 2014 are designed "to demonstrate the collective resolve of Allies, demonstrate the defensive nature of NATO and deter Russia from aggression or the threat of aggression against NATO Allies." With the Trump administration shaking long-standing alliances, certain allies have questioned plans to buy F-35s. There's a potential aircraft like the Gripen or Eurofighter Typhoon could become much more important. There's an opportunity for European defense companies, but it creates a problem for European countries as there are fewer of those jet types available and their production, at least for now, is slower. Read the original article on Business Insider
