African Pilot followed Africa Aerospace and Defence 2026 from the aircraft arrivals through the trade days and public airshow. Across five days at Air Force Base Waterkloof, the exhibition brought together new South African aerospace projects, export business, a growing UAV presence, international aircraft and two days of flying.
Air Force Base Waterkloof hosted the 13th Africa Aerospace and Defence exhibition from 16 to 20 September 2026, bringing together 287 exhibitors from 33 countries and 52 official delegations from 28 countries.
The organisers recorded 27,382 trade visitors during the business days, followed by 55,843 people across the public airshow weekend. The AAD Youth Foundation programme also reached 12,000 learners.
African Pilot was at Waterkloof from the aircraft arrivals through the three trade days and public weekend. While the flight line provided much of the visual appeal, the exhibition also produced new South African aerospace projects, export agreements and industry partnerships.
New Aerospace Business
The jointly owned aircraft design organisation plans to use a Bell 222 as the first of three experimental flying test laboratories. African Pilot subsequently covered the Peregrine programme in more detail.
HENSOLDT South Africa used AAD to launch its locally developed KENIS 1280 AK thermal imaging sensor as a standalone product and announced an agreement to supply 200 units to Estonia-based HEVI Optronics. The order follows an earlier purchase of 150 KENIS sensors by the same customer.
Airbus concluded two South African agreements during the show. An MoU with ALT Academy covers possible cooperation in aircraft maintenance training, while a four-year agreement involving Airbus Southern Africa, Wits University and ISAE-SUPAERO covers aerospace education, research and skills development.
The company also displayed an Angolan Air Force C295 in maritime-surveillance configuration. Angola ordered three C295s in 2022, comprising two maritime-surveillance aircraft and one transport aircraft.
General Atomics AeroTec Systems, meanwhile, used its presence at AAD to position the Do228 NXT for African markets. Ahead of the show, the company told African Pilot that earlier Do228 variants had been operated by more than 30 operators across almost 20 African countries. The NXT is being offered for passenger, cargo and special-mission operations.
UAVs Move Further Into the Mainstream
The scale of the UAV presence was difficult to miss.
Paramount unveiled its V-Raven VTOL unmanned aircraft family, while Milkor and Safran announced cooperation around optronics and navigation equipment for Milkor’s UAV platforms.
Hussar Security and Defence Solutions director Tom Kruger, who has worked in South Africa’s drone industry for more than a decade, said the change compared with earlier editions of AAD was striking.
“If you take AAD 10 years ago, zero drones. Today, there’s almost not a stand that doesn’t somehow link up with drones,” he told African Pilot.
Kruger also pointed to the increasingly blurred boundary between commercial and defence UAV technology as more capable systems find applications in both sectors.
That crossover was visible elsewhere at the show. SkyFleet displayed a tethered drone system used for applications including building and solar-panel cleaning, while co-owner Conrad Enslin was among the drone pilots selected to fly during AAD.
General Aviation Finds More Space
The General Aviation Park returned for its second edition, bringing light aircraft, helicopters, training organisations and other civil aviation businesses into the exhibition.
CAASA CEO Kevin Storie told African Pilot that the area had grown since its introduction and that he would ultimately like to see 30 or 40 aircraft represented there.
The GA Park does not, however, represent the full extent of South African civil aerospace at AAD. Several local manufacturers had larger standalone exhibits elsewhere in the show.
SACAA Executive: Aviation Safety Operations Dean Khumalo said the regulator’s participation reflected the areas where civil and military aviation overlap. AAD also gave SACAA an opportunity to promote aviation safety, introduce young people to different careers and engage with operators across the wider aviation system.
Civilian, historic and locally built aircraft also appeared in the flying programme alongside the military displays.
From Trade Show to Airshow
More than 55,000 people attended the public airshow across Saturday and Sunday.
The South African Air Force provided much of the flying programme, with the Gripen, Hawk, Rooivalk, C-130BZ, Oryx and other types appearing over Waterkloof. Civilian, historic and general aviation aircraft broadened the programme across both days.
One of the strongest crowd reactions came during the final SAAF formation and flare display, when aircraft broke from formation over Waterkloof as flares were released above the airfield to close the flying programme.
The public weekend also brought the youth component of AAD into sharper focus.
TETA sponsored the youth programme for the first time in 2026, while CAASA’s status as a public benefit organisation helped attract additional sponsorship. Together, this enabled 12,000 STEM learners to attend.
Storie said the focus was on young people who could eventually enter fields such as engineering and manufacturing, and argued that South Africa’s high level of youth unemployment made this an important part of the event.
Looking Beyond 2026
The SAAF’s presence in the flying programme came at a time when aircraft availability and long-term support remain important issues for the service.
Armscor has since announced the appointment of service providers to maintain and support SAAF prime mission equipment, saying the work is intended to improve maintenance, repairs and aircraft availability. African Pilot covered that support programme separately after AAD.
For Storie, the next opportunity is to broaden the African presence when the exhibition returns.
“For 2028, I would like to see many more African countries participating with national pavilions and bringing air assets,” he said.
He specifically mentioned Angola, Botswana, Ethiopia and Kenya when discussing aircraft he would like to see represented at future editions, while drones, UAVs and space are also expected to play a larger role.
AAD 2028 is scheduled for 27 September to 1 October 2028, with the South African Aerospace, Maritime and Defence Industries Association (AMD) as lead partner.
