South Africa is one of JAS 39 Gripen fighter jet operators, and a unique one at that because it's the only nation to have almost the entire Gripen fleet unflyable. Only 2/26 Gripens in service with the South African Air Force (SAAF) can take off, and it's only part of the broader issue: on paper, the country has as many as 330 combat aircraft but only six of them are actually operable.
The findings were presented in a report by South African journalist Martin Plaut for News24. Defense Express provides a brief rundown on the situation with some commentary while recommending the original article for a deeper analysis.
Read more: MiG-31K Sorties Frequency Plummets: Does russia Really Have No Engines For Maintenance?
Problems with the aircraft's combat capability had been acknowledged for a while and manifested on multiple occasions over the past few years. For example, in late 2021, South African military and the Swedish Saab could not agree on maintenance costs.
However, soon the South African National Defense Force paid a heavy price for ignoring the issue: during the January 2025 battles in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between government troops and militants of the M23 movement, South African peacekeepers deployed in the country found themselves without air support and suffered a "a total defeat and humiliation," experts claimed.
In figures, SAAF formally has 26 Gripen fighters but only two of them can take off due to the technical condition; same for only three flyable Hawk trainers out of 24 in possession.
The picture is even more grim in the helicopter fleet. Only one among 39 existing Oryx helicopters (licensed version of Puma) can take off; 0/39 Rooivalk attack helicopters, and zero for all other rotorcraft, too.
By now, South Africa has reached a state where its military forces cannot count on its aviation to perform air defense missions, air support on the battlefield, or at least evacuate the wounded.
Defense Express adds, based on data from The Military Balance 2024 annual study by London-based think tank IISS, the South African National Defense Force numbered 69,200 servicemen, including 35,250 troops in the ground forces and 8,900 in the air force as of last year.
Read more: The First Target of Ukraine's "Long Neptune" Missile Was russian Military Facility in Crimea
