SAAB offers Erieye surveillance system
Date: 2 October 2007
By Dean Wingrin
A meeting was recently held in Cape Town between South African and Swedish experts to discuss the strategic capabilities South Africa requires at the dawn of the 21st Century, with an emphasis on security solutions for the upcoming 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup.
The Strategic Capabilities for National Security Conference was a one day closed event at the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in Cape Town, held at the end of September. It was hosted by the Swedish Embassy, Exportrådet (the Swedish Trade Council), Saab and Ericsson.
Saab SA chief executive officer, Per Erlandsson said Saab regards South Africa as its second home market. "Because of our investment of a number of local businesses in the last decade we consider ourselves an indigenous company. And with our ongoing work with the South African National Defence Force, most notably the delivery from next year of the Air Force's new Gripen fighter fleet, there should be no doubt that we are here to stay."
Part of this investment has been in securing and enhancing South Africa's indigenous command-and-control capability, which can play a key role in hosting a successful event and which in the broader context amounts to a prudent national investment in the means to plan for, prepare for and mitigate the impact of natural and manmade disasters.
Investing in situational awareness as well as command, control and communications (C3) for the emergency services, coupled with establishing a single national contact number for the security and emergency services would be a major step towards realising a legacy from hosting the World Cup, participants said. The Swedish Rescue Services Agency has offered its help in this regard.
This capability can be further enhanced by what could be an example of south-south cooperation within the IBSA (India-Brazil-SA) framework. The Saab-developed Erieye surveillance system is in operational use above the Amazon basin aboard Brazilian-built Embraer aircraft. Erieye is assisting that country with natural resource management, border control as well as search-and-rescue, among other tasks.
Deploying Erieye for the World Cup will continue a trend set by last year's World Cup when the German authorities requested the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation to deploy its airborne early warning and control fleet to help secure the event.
The Brazilian airforce demonstrated one of their Embraer EMB-145 AEW&C aircraft to the SAAF in South Africa in September last year. It is understood that the SAAF were impressed with the aircraft, but special funding would have to be obtained if any aircraft are to be purchased. One option may be to lease the aircraft for the duration of the Soccer world Cup.