South African budget woes

The South African Air Force cannot afford to fly its Gripens, says a newspaper.

Gary Parsons - 5-Mar-2010

Saab image

March 5: A South African newspaper claims that the country’s military finances are “hopelessly inadequate” and that Saab Gripen fighters will be mainly grounded due a lack of funds.

News 24 says that the South African government’s strategic plan for defence for the next three years will see 550 hours flown by the Gripen fleet this year, but reduce to just 250 hours in 2011 and 2012. The allocation for this year is mainly for security flights during the football World Cup tournament during June and July.

The South African Air Force has eleven Gripens delivered from an order for 26 aircraft, nine being the twin-seat JAS-39D model and the rest single-seat ‘Cs.

NATO requires fighter pilots to log 240 flight hours per year to remain operationally functional. "Our air force is only barely going to be able to keep two fighter pilots in business”, said a South African military expert to the newspaper.

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