Waterkloof Air Force Base
| AFB Waterkloof | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | FAWK |
| IATA code | WKF |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 1506 m (4941 ft ) |
| Transport links | |
| Distance from the city center | 10 km south of Pretoria, 6 km west of AFB Swartkop |
| Street | M10 |
| Basic data | |
| opening | August 1, 1938 |
| operator | South African Air Force |
| Air freight | military, VIP of the government level |
| Runways | |
| 01/19 | 3353 m × 45 m asphalt |
| 06/24 | 1920 m × 45 m asphalt |
The Air Force Base Waterkloof ( AFB Waterkloof ), afrikaans Waterkloof Lugmagbasis ( IATA code WKF , ICAO code FAWK ), founded as Waterkloof Air Station, is located near Centurion , Gauteng province in the metropolitan municipality of City of Tshwane , thus near the South African capital Pretoria . This facility is the largest air base of the South African Air Force (SAAF) in South Africa.
Location and traffic
The air force base is located south of Pretoria. On its western flanks, the site borders the Lyttelton Manor district of Centurion. The N1 motorway runs in the southeast and crosses the R21 ( Hans Strydom Drive ) east of the built-up residential area of Pierre van Rynefeld (named after a military aviation pioneer) . In the north, the airport field is touched by Solomon Mahlangu Drive (M10), which also forms the outer main access road for the area. To the west, the Pretoria- Kempton Park - Germiston railway runs in a north-south direction . The AFB Swartkop is only 6 kilometers away from the AFB Waterkloof .
In the vicinity of the air force base there is a former dolomite open pit mine , the Groenkloof Nature Reserve , a motorway junction ( N1 , R21) and densely built-up residential areas.
Use and function
The military base is used and administered by the South African Air Force. The Ditholo Training Area (formerly Air Defense Artillery Defense Unit ) also belongs to AFB Waterkloof as an external component in Hammanskraal . Air services for the South African President and foreign state guests are also handled via this airport. In this context, the diplomatic missions of other countries represented in South Africa have a certain influence on the air traffic that takes place.
history
The base was opened on August 1, 1938. In the first few years the landing field consisted of a grass area that was sufficient for the aircraft that existed at the time. With the advent of jet engines , their operation on the ground led to the destruction of such unpaved surfaces. Therefore, the Air Force decided to create asphalt surfaces. In July 1951, in order to ensure the necessary construction clearance, the 1 Squadron with its newly received Vampire planes was relocated to the neighboring AFS Swartkop , which became a temporary site of operations.
A 2.5-year period was assumed for the construction planning. However, it was not until 1956 that Air Force units were able to return to Waterkloof. The construction of the runways and other related facilities extended over a period of almost five years.
Between 1970 and the 1980s, the base was modernized several times and developed into the leading military airport in South Africa.
An aviation fair has been taking place on the site of the base since 1998, the previous event of which began in 1975 as Aviation Africa at Lanseria Airport . In 1998 the name changed to Aerospace Africa and the military part now shaped the profile of the fair. In 2000, Aerospace Africa merged with DEXSA ( Defense Exhibition of South Africa ), which had previously been held every two years, to form Africa Aerospace & Defense (AAD). The AAD-International Aviation and Defense Exhibition is now a biennial aviation trade fair with civil and military exhibitors for trade visitors and other interested audiences. The organizer is the Centurion-based company Africa Aerospace & Defense . Other institutions involved in the organization are the Commercial Aviation Association of Southern Africa (CAASA), Armscor , central government agencies and the South African Ministry of Defense (DoD).
A second renovation of the runways and the taxiways took place in 2008 and in 2009.
The unauthorized landing (flight JAI 9900) of an Airbus A330-200 of the Indian Jet Airways with over 200 passengers on April 30, 2013 at the AFB Waterkloof was classified as a significant security incident for the state of South Africa and triggered investigations by the Ministry of Justice, the State Security Agency as well downstream political debates. In accordance with the legal situation at the time, only take-offs and landings for military purposes and high-ranking official government or diplomatic transfers ( VVIP, VIP ) were permitted. The background to this event is the close ties between the Gupta family and high-ranking representatives of the South African government at the time. The passengers were in luxury vehicles to a casino - resort brought, which had been fully for the wedding of Vega Gupta with Aakash Jahajgarhia, a son of a wealthy Indian family posted. There were allegations that the Indian high commission had abused the special diplomatic rules and should have contributed to the landing at the Air Force Base Waterkloof, the use of which is reserved for the military, the South African President and other heads of state.
At the same time as the first Summit and Economic Forum Russia-Africa convened by President Putin in Sochi (October 23 to 24, 2019), two Tupolev Tu-160 aircraft landed on October 23, 2019 at the AFB Waterkloof . According to a statement by Deputy Defense Minister Innocent Buthelezi and a ministry spokesman, the visit to the two machines had been planned for some time and is part of the bilateral cooperation in the military sector. The two planes landed at the destination airport after 13 hours and a 11,000-kilometer non-stop flight from the Engels-2 military airfield near Saratov . During the flight, they received over the Caspian Sea from an Ilyushin Il-78 , a flight refueling .
Stationings
The following SAAF units are stationed at AFB Waterkloof (as of 2019):
- 1 air servicing unit,
- 111 Squadron,
- 21 Squadron (VIP transport),
- 28 Squadron,
- 41 Squadron,
- 44 Squadron,
- 5 Air Servicing Unit (maintenance support),
- 504 Squadron,
- 60 Squadron,
- Central Photographic Institute (phototechnical support),
- Command and Control School,
- Electronic Warfare Center,
- Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Center (JARIC, aerial photo evaluation),
- SAAF Telecommunications Center.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Waterkloof AFB . on www.worldaerodata.com (English)
- ^ A b c d L. Steyn, South African Air Force: Air Force Base Waterkloof . on www.saairforce.co.za (English)
- ^ South African History Online (SAHO): The South African Air Force is established . on www.sahistory.org.za (English)
- ^ A b South African Government: Investigation into the Landing of a Chartered Commercial Aitcraft at Air Force Base Waterkloof on April 30, 2013 . JCPS Cluster report , online at www.justice.gov.za (English)
- ↑ a b defenseWeb: AFB Waterkloof turns 80 . on www.defenceweb.co.za (English)
- ↑ a b Africa Aerospace and Defense : History . on www.aadexpo.co.za (English)
- ^ Deutscher Fachverlag GmbH: AAD International Exhibition for Aviation and Defense . on www.expodatabase.de (German)
- ↑ Aislinn Laing: 200 Indian wedding guests allowed to land at South Africa's main military air base . News from The Telegraph dated May 1, 2013 on www.telegraph.co.uk
- ↑ Erin Conway-Smith: Who let the Gupta family land at a South African military base? . AFP message from May 3, 2013 on www.pri.org (English)
- ^ Simon Allison: Russia in Africa: Soft power comes with hard edges . Message from Mail & Guardian Online of October 25, 2019 on www.mg.co.za (English)
- ↑ The Citizen : WATCH: Hypersonic Russian bombers land at Waterkloof . Announcement of The Citizen of October 23, 2019 on www.citizen.co.za (English)
- ↑ The Roscongress Foundation: Summit and Economic Forum Russia-Africa . on www.summitafrica.ru (English)
- ^ Aviation Central: TU-160 Strategic Bombers Land at AFB Waterkloof . News from October 24, 2019 on www.aviationcentral.co.za (English)
- ^ South African Air Force: The Airforce - Bases . on www.saairforce.co.za (English)
