The South African National Defence Force has appointed a black chief of the navy, meaning from next February both the army and navy will be led by black men. A new chief of the air force has also been appointed.

R -Adm Refiloe Mudimu, a former Umkhonto we Sizwe commander who is currently the chief of naval staff, will be promoted to the rank of vice-admiral. Mudimu will take over from Johan Retief, who is retiring.

Maj Gen Carlo Gagiano, a former fighter pilot and defence force strategic planner, will be Chief of the Air Force from next year. He will take over from Lieut Gen Roelf Beukes, who is also retiring.

The new chiefs will oversee the challenges of absorbing new arms deal acquisitions, and possibly other weapons on their services' wish lists .

The air force has the task of absorbing its new Gripen fighter aircraft and Agusta helicopters in the next few years, but may also acquire new military transport aircraft as its fleet of C130s ages. Airbus is lobbying hard to sell the air force its A400M plane, which it will begin to produce in 2006.

While the navy has the task of making its recently delivered four Valour-class corvette warships fully operational, it also has a wish list of further equipment.

In an exercise this week, the navy sailed its newest corvette , the SAS Mendi, along the east coast . The ship is next in line to be fitted with weapons, including the control combat suite that forms a central feature of the trial of Schabir Shaik.

Lynx helicopters, which will widen the ships' outlook range, will be delivered by April 2007 and allow the corvettes to become fully operational soon afterwards. The navy has three submarines on order from Germany, the first of which it expects to be delivered in early 2006.

While absorbing its new weapons, the navy is developing a more extensive shopping list which, although not on the same order in terms of cost, will allow SA to project substantial sea power . These plans, covering about the next fifteen years, were outlined aboard the SAS Mendi this week by the navy's chief director of maritime strategy, R Adm Philip Schoultz.

Based on an internal review, yet to be made public, Schoultz said the navy would like to acquire landing ships that could carry a battalion of soldiers; inshore patrol craft; underwater autonomous vehicles to search for mines; and helicopter drones to fly from the corvettes.

None of these has been approved by cabinet or placed in government's three-year expenditure framework.

Landing ships would provide SA with strategic reach around the African coastline. They could also act as supply ships and allow the corvettes to spend longer than 28 days at sea. They are currently limited by food, fuel, and ammunition considerations.

Inshore patrol craft would allow the navy to assist the police with border control and also to protect SA's harbours and territorial waters against illegal fishing by foreign vessels.

Underwater autonomous drones would be able to find a path for ships through mines . The navy has yet to see a suitable naval helicopter drone it could use, but a growing number of navies are looking at these types of unmanned vehicles to do reconnaissance work.

With the arms package having benefited the navy and the air force, it is likely that the army will now have its turn for acquisitions that could include new infantry fighting vehicles, possibly tanks, and trucks.

The air force and navy's next turn is only likely in at least five years' time, when SA's land forces have been upgraded.

With acknowledgements to Jonathan Katzenellenbogen and the Business Day.