Denel Land Systems unveils new, improved weapons

Denel Land Systems (DLS) unveiled the lightest 7.62 mm calibre general purpose machine gun (GPMG) in the world at the recent Africa Aerospace and Defence 2016 exhibition. It also revealed improved... 

Airbus to assist with Rooivalk upgrade, as it reaffirms Africa commitment

The Airbus Group (parent of Airbus, Airbus Defence and Space and Airbus Helicopters) is committed to help develop aeronautical industries in Africa, because it believes that this makes good... 

Saab, Denel create joint air defence system from their products

Swedish security and defence group Saab has revealed that it and South African Defence group Denel have cooperated to integrate the former's Giraffe radar with the latter's Umkhonto surface-to-air... 

Local unit of global defence group enjoying significant success

South African private-sector defence company Saab Grintek Defence (SGD) is enjoying such success that it has had to recruit 198 new staff since January 2015, taking its work force up to 719 people.... 

SA government to lease, then buy, VIP aircraft

The South African Air Force (SAAF) will acquire a VIP aircraft for Presidential travel, Defence and Military Veterans Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula affirmed last week, reported specialist news... 

Boss number seven takes over at global airline body

The new Director General and CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Alexandre de Juniac, took up his office on September 1. He has replaced Tony Tyler, who retired on August 31,... 

UK PM firm on only revealing fate of nuclear project later this month

The future of Britain’s first major nuclear power plant (NPP) project in two decades, Hinkley Point C, remains uncertain. In July, the new British Prime Minister, Theresa May, took everyone by... 

New SAA board cautiously welcomed, but Myeni reappointment draws fire

South Africa’s official opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), has announced that it is to legally challenge the re-appointment of Ms Dudu Myeni as Chairperson of the South African Airways... 

Precious and ornamental stones in the limelight in Moz, Angola

Mozambican miner Montepuez Ruby Mining Limitada (MRM) has been recognised as the country’s second biggest exporter in the mining sector last year, and as the largest exporter from the northern... 

Elections prediction system showed accurate results in recent local polls

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has enjoyed considerable success in its operation to predict the outcomes of the recent local government elections, in the crucial (for the... 

SA space agency mulls future course in rapidly changing sector

Space science and technology is developing ever more rapidly. And this has consequences for South Africa and especially the South African National Space Agency (Sansa). “We’re living in exciting... 

Planned developments to improve competitiveness of Moz coal project – Vale

Brazilian mining major Vale believes that the conclusion of the project finance for the Nacala Logistics Corridor in Mozambique and Malawi will be an important step in increasing the... 

Local defence group continues to deliver improved results

South African State-owned defence industrial group Denel unveiled significantly improved annual results at a recent media briefing. Revenues in the financial year 2015/2016 jumped by 41% to... 

Denel working on various aerospace and artillery projects

The Denel Group, South Africa’s State-owned defence and aerospace business, is upbeat on the future of its Small African Regional Aircraft (Sara) project. “We have progressed well on the Small... 

Moz mining sector in tough times, but some good news

The mining sector in Mozambique has been the source of bad news in recent days, largely resulting from the low global commodity prices. These prices have caused three mining companies to cease... 

Budget airline ponders going regional as it adds to domestic network

South African low cost airline FlySafair is pondering whether it should add international flights, to other Southern African countries, to its currently all-domestic route network. “We are looking... 

Russian group is first with new-generation nuclear reactor

Russian State-owned nuclear energy group Rosatom has announced that it has started operational trials with the world's first Generation III+ nuclear reactor. This is the group's VVER-1200... 

Lanseria in midst of expansion, upgrade programme

South Africa’s biggest and busiest privately-owned aerodrome, Lanseria International Airport, continues to expand and upgrade its facilities to meet rising demand for both domestic and... 

South Africa one of world leaders in aviation security

South Africa is one of the leading countries in the world in implementing the latest commercial aviation security systems. This was recently pointed out by International Air Transport Association... 

European helicopter maker highlights global presence, including SA

Airbus Helicopters (formerly Eurocopter and part of the larger Airbus Group) is confident that it has a unique global presence. The company recently pointed out it that had 22 900 employees... 

Vale reports reduced costs, losses in Mozambique and rising prices

Brazilian major mining group Vale has reported, in its publication Vale’s Performance in 2Q16, that its subsidiary in Mozambique produced negative earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and... 

Helicopter company adding a punch to its civil designs

Inspired by, and drawing on some of the development work done with a South African company, European aerospace company Airbus Helicopters (formerly Eurocopter and part of the Airbus Group) has... 

Global defence aviation market predicted to expand, but competition to rise too

European aerospace and defence company Airbus Defence and Space (Airbus DS) expects the global defence market to grow at an annual average rate of 2.4% between now and 2020. Currently, total global... 

Brazilian group to help develop aviation industry in Morocco

Brazilian aerospace group Embraer and Morocco’s Mohammed VI International Aviation Academy (AIAC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Casablanca last week. The aim of the MoU is to... 

Australian miner recovers precious stones in Mozambique

Australian Stock Exchange-listed Mustang Resources has announced that it has recovered ten rubies during exploration and trenching work at its Montepuez project in Mozambique. The rubies totalled... 

Brazilian airframer predicts rapid growth in smallest jet airliner segment

Embraer, the Brazilian group that is the world’s number one manufacturer of commercial jets carrying up to 130 passengers, forecasts that the global market for jet airliners in the 70-seat to... 

Teaching scholarship in education under spotlight

Advancing teaching innovation and research excellence in higher education will be the focus of this year’s Annual Teaching & Learning in Higher Education Conference. The conference, in its tenth... 

Airbus predicts commercial aircraft numbers will double by 2035

European major airliner manufacturer Airbus has forecast, in its latest Global Market Forecast, that the world will require 33 000 new commercial aircraft, worth $5.2-trillion, over the next 20... 

Boeing predicts growing demand for new airliners over next 20 years

US aerospace giant Boeing has forecast that the global market demand for new airliners will total 39 620 over the next 20 years, worth $5.9-trillion. This represents a 4.1% rise over last year’s... 

Mozambique reports unquantified diamond discovery

In Mozambique, the National Director of Mines last week confirmed that diamonds had been discovered in the Massangena district of the Gaza province. Talking to the Maputo newspaper Notícias, he... 

Airbus Defence & Space believes its tactical transports are ideal for Africa

With 57 of its twin-engined light and medium tactical transport aircraft already in service with 14 countries in Africa, Airbus Defence and Space (DS), part of the Airbus Group, believes its... 

International interest in small SA firm’s inspection robot

Barely launched on to the market, a South African designed and developed inspection robot has already won local orders and attracted international interest, with potential overseas clients set to... 

African and world airlines enjoyed increased passenger traffic last year

Africa-registered airlines accounted for 2.2% of global scheduled passenger traffic last year, reports the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in its World Air transport Statistics 2016... 

Indian group could build power plant at Moz coal mine

Indian coal company International Coal Ventures Limited (ICVL) is considering building a thermal power plant at its Benga coal mine in Mozambique’s Tete province. ICVL is a consortium of... 

Airbus says incremental development strategy is taking shape

With a comprehensive range of modern or modernised designs, European airliner manufacturer Airbus (part of the larger Airbus Group) is currently focused on the incremental improvement and further... 

Sasol reports sharing information with universities benefits both sides

South African petrochemicals giant Sasol warns that maintaining strict secrecy regarding intellectual property (IP) hampers cooperation between businesses and universities and thus constrains the... 

Mozambique mining to benefit from infrastructure developments

Encouraging news for the Chibuto heavy minerals sands project in Mozambique is that three companies are, it has been reported, interested in developing the Chongoene Logistics Corridor, without... 

Russia seeks to promote intra-Brics investment, economic development

Russia is proposing a number of potential trade, investment and economic development projects within the framework of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (Brics) alignment. These... 

Mango founder-CEO Bezuidenhout to join fastjet, while SAA admits subsidy

Beleaguered African low-cost airline fastjet, which is listed on the London AIM, has announced that it has appointed South African airline executive Nico Bezuidenhout as its new CEO. Bezuidenhout... 

New nuclear programme localisation target likely to be 50%

The South African government is looking at securing a local content level of 50% in the country’s proposed new nuclear power plant (NPP) programme. This was stated recently by South African Nuclear...