The 11 year controversy surrounding the South African government's controversial arms deal has once again made news headlines after Swedish defence company SAAB admitted that following its own investigations, it found "supposed" evidence of large scale corruption by British defence company BAE systems. From a purely military perspective, the question that needs to be asked now is whether the decision by the South African government to purchase the hugely expensive Gripen aircraft from BAE was actually warranted in the current low threat environment? Also, does the Gripen actually fulfill the needs of the South African Air Force (SAAF)?
Why did the SAAF want a new fighter aircraft in the first place? The Air Force's previous fighter platform the Cheetah strike aircraft's lifetime was coming to an end and the Air Force needed to replace it. Itself being an upgraded version of the vaunted French Mirage 3 that was purchased by the South African Air Force in the 1960's, it served the country nearly 20 years.
Contrary to popular belief, aircraft such as the Gripen have also been used extensively during peacekeeping and enforcement missions the world over. South Africa is one of Africa's biggest contributors to peacekeeping operations on the continent and this commitment can only be expected to increase in the future.
In conclusion it can be said that the Gripen was indeed the best aircraft for the SAAF to replace its elderly cheetah fighters and that the government did indeed need to replace it.
Those responsible for corruption and malpractice during the awarding of the arms deal should be severely punished. The scandal surrounding the arms deal has been continuing for far too long now and it is time for it to be brought to a conclusion. It is however also time for the South African public to separate the two issues: there is on the one side the bad practice and corruption, but the needs of the SANDF should also be taken into account.