View Document - Parliament of South Africa

181 THURSDAY, 9 OCTOBER 2008
182
are not completed yet are the
ALFA (Gripen aircraft), LIFT
(Hawk aircraft) and LUH (Agusta
A109 helicopters) programmes.
The submarines and corvette
programmes are for all intents and
purposes complete except for
(d)
some outstanding funding commitments
liable on logistics.
The 2008 projection for the total
cost to completion of the SDP
programme is R47,525 billion.
(2) No.
Delivery of new submarine
1410. Mr I E JENNER (ID) asked the
Minister of Defence:
(1) Whether the new submarine, the
SAS Manthatisi that was delivered to
South Africa in 2006 is operational;
if not, (a) what (i) are the problems
being encountered and (ii) when did
they first occur;
(2) whether any steps and or interventions
are being taken to rectify the
relevant faults; if not, why not; if so,
(a) at what cost and (b) who is paying
the cost;
(3) whether he will make a statement on
the matter? NW2149E
The MINISTER OF DEFENCE:
(1) Yes. (a) SAS Manthatisi is currently in
a scheduled extended maintenance period.
The three submarines are used in
an operational cycle that allows an
opportunity for each to undergo a maintenance
cycle whilst retaining the other
two in an operational condition.
(2) SAS Manthatisi is technically sound
and the systems on board have been
preserved so that the submarine can be
returned to operational service at short
notice, should such a requirement exist.
(3) No.
Pilots for new aeroplanes
1415. Mr M H HOOSEN (ID) asked the
Minister of Defence:
(1) Whether the SA Air Force has
trained pilots and engineering back
up staff to ensure that all its
(2)
aeroplanes recently delivered are
fully operational; if not, (a) in what
areas and (b) to what extent, are the
shortages;
whether he has taken any steps to
rectify the shortages; if not, what is
the position in this regard; if so, what
are the relevant details?
The MINISTER OF DEFENCE:
NW2154E
(1) Yes. The SA Air Force does not have
enough trained pilots and technicians to
ensure that all its aircraft, and particularly
the Strategic Defence Package
aircraft, are fully operational. While all
specialist aviation musterings have
been hard-hit by the high exodus rate, it
is in the environment of the pilots,
flight engineers and technicians where
there are the greatest shortages. The
situation is aggravated by the fact that
many of the remaining personnel have
very little practical experience, thereby
creating a false impression of the real
situation. The following table is a
summary of the various critical capability
areas as a percentage:
Ser Capability Pilots Flight
Engineers
Technicians
1 Fighters 38% N/A 61%
2 Helicopters 72% 64% 68%
3 Transport 68% 25% 59%
(2) Yes. However, it is generally recognised
that the international shortage of
aviation specialists plays a major role
in the loss of such personnel and the