African Defense and Security Professionals set to Discuss Military ‘Interoperability’ at Pretoria ‘Fair’

TANZANIAN GENERAL ONE OF MAIN SPEAKERS.

The Rooivalk attack helicopter, one of the various military machines to be displayed at the Land Forces Africa event in Preteria the first week of July, 2015

The Rooivalk attack helicopter, one of the various military machines to be displayed at the Land Forces Africa event in Preteria the first week of July, 2015

By TZ Business News Staff.

Pretoria, South Africa, turns into a massive military hardware supermarket  during the  second week of July, 2015,  when producers of armaments will converge at Heartfelt Arena, Pretoria, to showcase what is currently available for use by African defence and security personnel.

Although the July 6 – 7,  2015 “Land Forces Africa” event is a marketing platform for manufacturers of military equipment from across the globe, organizers  say the event  will also be an opportunity for defence and security  professionals to exchange ideas and experience on  fighting terrorism and insurgency, policing humanitarian missions and the defence of infrastructure.

The event will also be an opportunity to get insight on responding to national disasters, the securing of our [African] borders and protection of national resources, Richard Stubbs, the Event Director,  has said in a statement made available to TZ Business News.

Defence and security speakers with first-hand experience in the issues will come from South Africa and  other parts of the world, the statement says, adding that  the event will provide a unique learning and networking opportunity for delegates.

Over 800 individuals have confirmed attendance from more than 43 countries, Stubbs has said. Represented countries include Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Czech Republic, DRC, Egypt, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico, Namibia, Netherlands, Pakistan, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda, UK, Ukraine, UAE, Uruguay, USA

The event theme is “advancing Africa’s defence and security objectives through interoperability” . Chief of General Staff of the Angolan Armed Forces, General Geraldo Sachipengo Nunda, will give the main keynote address through a presentation concerning ‘Interoperability of Land Forces in SADC Joint Operations’.  Other discussants on the issue will include Lieutenant General Paul Ignace Mella, from the United Republic of Tanzania, Force Commander of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID).

Lieutenant General Paul Ignace Mella, from the United Republic of Tanzania

Lieutenant General Paul Ignace Mella, from the United Republic of Tanzania

Other speakers to address the subject will include Ms Nosiviwe Noluthando Mapisa-Nqakula, South Africa’s Minister of Defence, and Vice Admiral (Ret) R. J. Mudimu, Chairman of the Armaments Corporation of South Africa (Armscor).

A list of military equipment exhibitors includes  Denel SOC, SAAB Grintek Defence, TATA Motors, DCD Protected Mobility, African Defense, Airbus Defence and Space, Armscor, Barloworld Power, Cargotec, Codan Radio Communications, Creative Tent, CSIR, CZ, Duke Defence, Excalibur Shelters, Global Wheel, GlobeSec (Pty) Ltd, GOLDesp, International Training & Support, iTraumaCare, MAKİNA VE KİMYA ENDÜSTRİSİ KURUMU (MKEK),

Others on the list include Twiga Services, Tyron, WeatherhavenRCS, Namibia Defence Industries, OTT Technologies, Paramount Group, Pearson Engineering, PJ Aviation, Prometheus Medical, QinetiQ NA, REMULES, Rheinmetall Denel Munition), Rohde & Schwarz, Schmidt & Bender, SDV | Bolloré Africa Logistics, Seldon Water, Sellier & Bellot, South African Military Health Service, Thales.

The military equipment trade fair dubbed Land Forces Africa takes place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Pretoria, South Africa by rotation. This year it is Pretoria’s turn to host the event.

I the meantime, reports from Cape Town say the South African Government will push state-owned arms manufacturers Denel to increase production of the Rooivalk attack helicopter

The country’s Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula was quoted as making the following statement on the subject: “We have to push them to do it and by doing so we have to assist them in whatever way to manufacture more because… everybody now wants a Rooivalk and they want a Rooivalk from South Africa,” she told journalists in Cape Town.

“The Rooivalk Attack Helicopter was for the first time deployed by the UN… and played a pivotal role in the demise of the M23 rebel armed group in the eastern part of the DRC,” the minister said.

The UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, known as Monusco, has praised the effectiveness of the attack helicopter. Its success generated interest from elsewhere in the world, meaning the defence industry would have to increase manufacturing capacity.

“Our defence industry has no choice. Even if we did not have the capacity to do some of these things, the truth of the matter is wherever you go right now people are talking about the Rooivalk and people would want to order the Rooivalk… so our defence industry must be beefed up, must be assisted as we have been doing,” she said.

Sales of the helicopter would boost the economy and the standing of the country’s defence industry.

“I think it’s good for the country. It’s good for our economy,” the minister said. “It’s good for the defence industry… because there’s a lot of competition out there. It’s good that they are beginning to identify South Africa as one of those countries that can play a very key role in supplying some of that equipment.”