Planning underway for SAAF force preparation exercise Eagle Dawn II
Date: 20 July 2026
The SA Air Force (SAAF) will put its mettle to the test come October/November when it stages Exercise Eagle Dawn II in the Northern Cape province.
Exercise details are, according to the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) Directorate Corporate Communication (DCC), presently in the planning phase. What is known is it will be in two phases, starting with a Command Post Exercise (CPX) followed by a live exercise.
The first Eagle Dawn was staged across Gauteng and Limpopo in July/August last year to “test capabilities and align the airborne service with deployment requirements”. Another reported focus of Eagle Dawn I was given as “regaining the force preparations needed to make the SAAF proficient again”. In line with this objective air defence capabilities were specifically named.
The arrival of the Eagle Dawn exercises, taking the name from former SAAF chief Lieutenant General Wiseman Mbambo’s 2022 injunction and campaign to “Free the Eagle”, seemingly puts an end to the Winter Solstice series of force preparation exercises for the airborne service of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF).
There are 10 documented Winter Solstice exercises going back to 2011 in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. This was followed by the North West and Northern Cape provinces in 2012 with a four-year break to 2016 when it was conducted alongside exercises Young Eagle and Ndlovu. In 2017 Mkhuze in northern Kwazulu-Natal was from where joint operations training ran before another four-year break saw Winter Solstice take the form of a scenario-based CPX. The SAAF training area at Ditholo, north of Pretoria, hosted the last known Winter Solstice in 2022 with the emphasis on field training and mission readiness ahead of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) peacekeeping mission to Mozambique.
DCC informed this publication more detail will be provided once the Eagle Dawn II planning phase is finalised.
The 2026 Department of Defence Annual Performance Plan (APP) stated that through the conducting of the Eagle Dawn exercise, the Air Defence Programme will ensure the SAAF’s combat readiness and the ability to provide air defence combat-ready capabilities in accordance with the Joint Force Employment requirements.
The SAAF plans to fly 7 000 force preparation hours, 4 000 force employment and 1 000 VVIP hours for the 2026/27 financial year for a total of 12 000 hours. During the 2024/25 financial year, 5 286 force preparation hours, 247 force employment hours and 675 VVIP hours were flown, for a total of 6 209 hours.
The Air Defence programme of the SANDF receives 13% of the total defence budget vote, for a total of R7.5 billion for the 2026/27 financial year (this goes up to R7.9 billion the next year and R8.1 billion the year after). These figures are much less than required, according to the latest Annual Performance Plan, which estimates full Air Defence costs at R13 billion.
The budget deviation of R5.5 billion (under funded by approximately 42%) “will adversely impact on the preparation and provision of combat-ready Air Defence capabilities, maintenance of air defence capabilities and maintenance of facilities as well as the compliance with prevailing aviation safety requirements,” the Annual Performance Plan stated. “Furthermore, the estimate budget deviation will impact on the Programme’s ability to fund and execute the cardinal pillars of the SANDF Long-Term Capability Development ‘Journey to Greatness’ Plan over the 2026/27 MTEF (Medium Term Expenditure Framework).”
More positive news, according to the APP, is that an additional R1.3 billion allocated over the next three years for the maintenance of the fighter capability will contribute to the progress in aircraft serviceability of the fighter fleet which will enhance force preparation.
“Over the 2026/27 MTEF, the fighter jet aircraft additional funding will be dispersed to align with the original intent of the Gripen Support Contract through the extension of Financial Authority from the currently approved two years to three full years. Funding across the MTEF period provides for the Gripen Engine Support and Hawk Engine Support contracts, following earlier reprioritisation of uncommitted future-year funds to their respective airframe support contracts due to past underfunding,” the APP said.
The Hawk Mission System Support Contract is similarly funded, including component repair, replacement and calibration, software updates, and obsolescence management of the Hawk Navigational Weapon Systems, as well as the Combat Ground Support and Test Equipment (GS&TE) supply and support services. Provision has also been made for the maintenance of thirteen Hawk canopies, in batches of three per year, together with the replacement of the Miniature Detonating Cords between January 2026 and September 2029. In addition, funding over the MTEF period now covers the Gripen Statement to Operate (STO) requirement including full STO for four aircraft and partial STO for aircraft currently in operation.
In terms of medium air transport, it is envisaged that the first C-130BZ Hercules (409) will return to South Africa this year after servicing at Marshall Aerospace in the United Kingdom, and a second C-130BZ (401) will undergo a major service during September 2026. Only one of the SAAF’s C-130BZs is currently flying in South Africa.
The 2026 APP also provided an update on the SAAF’s Space Command Capability, which was officially launched in May 2024, following the establishment of a Space Command Implementation Project Team in October 2022. The proposed initial location as the Space Command Section (SCS), will be located within the Sub-programme “Command and Control Capabilities” effective as from 1 April 2026, with full staffing envisaged by 1 April 2028 and formal establishment by 2030, according to the 2026 APP.
“The establishment of the Space Command Capability aligning with international best practices where air forces manage outer space matters. Costs for the Space Based Sensing Capabilities have been determined including facility upgrades and the establishment of centres of excellence (COE) requiring additional posts for departmental consideration,” the Annual Performance Plan stated.
Immediate Space Command tasks include signing of a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with the South African National Space Agency (SANSA), and developing the National Defence Space Strategy building on SANSA’s National Space Strategy (approved by Cabinet in December 2008 and launched in 2010 under the SANSA Act 36 of 2008) treating space as a critical operational domain to secure national interests, maintain superiority, deter aggression, protect assets from threats that include debris or anti-satellite weapons, integrate capabilities into operations, enhance resilience, and foster partnerships for ongoing departmental consideration.
Repliblished with permission of DefenceWeb.
