Government was left with egg on its face on Friday, following revelations that the R13,7bn Hawk and Gripen aircraft it bought as part of the strategic arms acquisition programme might end up being white elephants.

The defence department’s chief director of acquisitions, Maj-Gen Otto Schür, told Parliament’s standing committee on public accounts that there was no real use for the fighter aircraft because there was no “conventional threat”.

The decision to purchase the Hawk jet trainer and Gripen jet fighter, from British manufacturer BAE Systems and Sweden’s Saab respectively, was highly controversial as it was claimed at the time that they were not the best option for the South African Air Force and would cost substantially more than alternative options.

The acquisition of the fighter planes is part of the hugely controversial multibillion-rand arms deal that has been marred by persistent allegations of corruption against defence department officials and former deputy president Jacob Zuma, among others.

Anticorruption investigations have been launched in Britain, Germany and Sweden amid complaints by investigators that they were not getting enough co-operation from South African authorities.

Schür said the air force was reducing its combat capability as there was no conventional threat against SA or the subregion.

Transport capabilities were of greater importance and were receiving a bigger share of the budget, he said.

“The current need for combat aircraft and combat aircraft support for joint operations is very low because there is no real conventional threat.

“For that reason, the air force is focusing mainly on transport capabilities (both helicopter and fixed wing) as well as the training of new pilots to feed into the squadrons to prepare for future operations,” Schür said.

“Instead of 200 hours a year per aircraft, we may only achieve 100 hours per aircraft. We will not use them as often because there is no need in the short term.

“Until such time as the physical risk to national security escalates, where it requires a larger investment in combat systems, this is a wilful decision to reduce the investment in that environment.”

The head of the South African Air Force, Lt-Gen Carlo Gagiano, has echoed the same sentiments, saying in the department’s 2005-06 annual report that “extraordinary levels of underfunding” meant it would not be possible to use Hawks and Gripens at their optimum level.

Schür justified the purchase of the aircraft even though they were not immediately necessary, saying any country had to have the ability to defend its territorial and regional integrity should there be a threat.

With acknowledgement to Linda Ensor and The Weekender.