South African National Defence Force

[Yimmy]

An unkind person may well say that Britain has once again colonised South Africa, this time by stealth , instead of by burning farms and murdering 26000 women and and children in concentration camps...

Awww, you make the British feel so un-wuved.

On a more serious note, South Africa is still part of the Commonwealth isn't it, and so I assume South Africans can join Her Majesties forces. Can British join South Africas forces? I'm just asking out of curiosity.

[Nordwind]

If you check this out, http://www.careers.mil.za/careers/un...mages/army.pdf (requires Adobe Acrobat) one of the requirements are, being a SA citizen. I don't know if there are any exceptions to the rules though.

[baboon6]

Officialy Afrikaans and English (the two official languages up to 1994) were supposed to enjoy equal time, but in practise Afrikaans enjoyed preference as it was and stll remains the Lingua franca of South Africa, as the majority of the population can understand and speak it.

Since 1994 however there has been and still is a determined campaign by the authorities to marginalise Afrikaans, despite their much vaunted claim to uphold the Constitution which supposedly guarantees the right and existance of each of the 7 (I think) official languages.

There was a case recently where a Black Military Judge expressed his (and I quote) "Utter disgust" during a trial that some of the trial papers were in Afrikaans, despite the fact that he was commiting an offence by making this statement, he escaped censure.

I find it very ironic that the new rulers of South Africa are completely oblivious to the fact that more and more of South Africa's institutions have become virtually carbon copies of those of the previous Colonial power, instead of becoming truly South African.

An unkind person may well say that Britain has once again colonised South Africa, this time by stealth , instead of by burning farms and murdering 26000 women and and children in concentration camps...

Oh cry me a river. By the way the way it's 11 official languages.

[SS1983]

Nice pics,white men still the main force of SADF,huh?

[flecha]

Cactus target aquisition radar unit, and launcher, Ondangwa , South West Africa.

The Cactus proved a little too fragile to live up to its potential in the Bush War, however they were deployed during the Cuito Cuanavale battles and did fire in anger, I have a picture somewhere of one of these units after it had fired one of its missiles at a Mig 23

[Yimmy]

Is that the French Chaparral system?

[dez000]

Jislaaik Boet....

Ma se kind,wat vertel jy my nou !

Grappig taaltje

[Hellfish]

Is that the French Chaparral system?

Crotale. The Cactus was modified after the embargo, though.

[Yimmy]

Yeah my mistake, chaparral was the American ground launched sidewinder wasnt it.

[Hellfish]

Yeah my mistake, chaparral was the American ground launched sidewinder wasnt it.

Word .

[flecha]

Is that the French Chaparral system?

No, its the joint South African and French system known in France as the Crotale (Rattlesnake).

Some pictures of the system in French use

Mounted on a french frigate Tourville

On parade in Paris

Firing

Details of the role S A played can be found at :

http://www.pakdef.info/pakmilitary/a...m/crotale.html

[flecha]

Ratel turret being evaluated on a Eland armoured car

[flecha]

Rooikat armed with 35mm cannon and Zt missiles being evaluated

[Hellfish]

Good rare pics of that Eland and Rooikat.

[Ironsight06]

Ratel turret being evaluated on a Eland armoured car

Weren't the first Ratels using the AML-20 turret? And isn't the new turret based of those old AML-20 turrets?

Love that Rooikat pic. Never seen it armed with a 35mm gun and ZT-3 missile's.