Every two years the chairpersonship rotates amongst the three organisations, and AAD 2008 was chaired by AMD, with Mr Simphiwe Hamilton serving as the show director.  In his introduction message he mentioned the following : “The combination of the general aviation and defence sectors broadens the scope of what AAD 2008 will offer.  Feedback received from exhibitors, confirms that this duality will again result in a healthy infusion of leading edge technologies arriving at cost effective solutions to many security-related and general aviation challenges”.

AAD 2008:

Introduction

 The members of the media all met at AFB Ysterplaat on the 16th September 2008, to receive their accreditation passes and a media briefing.  Registration was handled expertly and professionally.  The media briefing was presented by Mr Billy Nell, who thereafter took the members on a guided tour of the various display halls and facilities.  Media facilities were situated conveniently close to the operational control area and a very high level of service was presented by the Media liaison team.  Sufficient IT equipment and refreshments were available throughout the whole period of the exhibition and airshow.  Some arrangements, on occasions, seemed a bit impractical, but after discussions with the organisers all media members were well accommodated in their various requests.

By Piet van Schalkwyk - I.M.G.

AAD 2008 was officially opened by Mr Mosiuoa Lekota, the Minister of Defence. He was introduced to the assembled guests by Lt Gen Carlo Gagiano, the Chief of the SAAF.

In his introduction Lt Gen Gagiano mentioned that AAD 2008 was bigger than 2006 and that it was by far the biggest yet of such a type of show. AAD 2008 housed thirty exhibiting countries, with more than 200 exhibitors.  The organisers were expecting some 17 000 trade visitors during the three trade days, including 11 Ministers of Defence, 3 Deputy Ministers of Defence, 9 Secretaries for Defence, 8 Chiefs of Defence Forces, 24 Chiefs of Armed Services, 24 Chiefs of Air Force and 80 Foreign VIP Defence Delegations.  Delegations from 20 other African countries were expected.

The arrival of the Minister of Defence and the Chief of the South African Air Force

 During his opening remarks, the Minister made it very clear that the government had realised the importance of technology and industries in the development of South Africa and its neighbouring countries, as the African continent is hugely reliant on air transport for growth, stability and service delivery.  He mentioned that aerospace was a main component of this.  He also mentioned that he hoped that the future would see more African countries as exhibitors and not just as visitors.  The Minister made it clear that a requirement existed for more international alliances for mutual programmes, especially seen in the light of Peace Support Operations that had to be carried out using equipment that have stood the test of time.