The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) Atlas Oryx, a cornerstone of South Africa’s air mobility for decades, is currently in a crisis due to maintenance, funding, and political prioritisation issues. 

Once hailed as part of Africa’s best-equipped air power, the Oryx fleet faces a troubling reality: a sizable portion of airframes are grounded, spare parts are scarce, and new upgrades are weighed against tight budgets that have repeatedly starved readiness.

Recent reports reveal that five of South Africa’s military Oryx helicopters remain in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) due to a lack of funding.

The Oryx is a medium-sized, multi-role helicopter developed for South Africa’s needs. 

Named for the rugged oryx antelope, it’s designed to shuttle troops, support rapid deployments, enable communications across units, and conduct search-and-rescue missions.

In naval service, it doubles as a workhorse for transport, replenishment at sea, reconnaissance, and medical evacuation. It can carry up to 20 fully equipped troops or six wounded personnel with attendants.

In practice, however, the fleet’s operational health has deteriorated. 

Defence observers and industry reporting have chronicled a maintenance backlog that leaves the fleet vulnerable at the most crucial times for international peacekeeping assignments and regional security tasks. 

The Oryx has seen service in mission theatres such as MONUSCO in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and regional operations in Mozambique (SAMIM). 

However, recoveries and redeployments have been hampered by budget constraints and repair delays.

Publicly accessible price tags for a single Atlas Oryx are not published in precise, standalone terms. What is clearer is the financial architecture surrounding the fleet’s upkeep and modernisation.

According to a May 2024 report by Timesaerospace, Project Drummer II, an avionics and navigation overhaul package, targeted several Oryx airframes and cost the fleet around 492 million rand.

In 2023, DefenceWeb revealed that Oryx’s sustainment rests on long-running contracts with industry partners, notably Airbus Helicopters and Denel, which hover around hundreds of millions of rand. 

However, Industry trackers say only a portion of the Oryx fleet is mission-ready at any given time. 

Reports over the past two years document that several airframes have been grounded or stationed at Denel’s maintenance facilities awaiting service, with some helicopters damaged in the theatre and others stranded abroad after deployments. 

The situation is not limited to the Oryx; parallel concerns have surrounded the Rooivalk attack helicopters, hinting at a broader maintenance and funding bottleneck across South Africa’s rotary-wing assets.

Defence analyst Sarel Jacobus Francois Marais has been a persistent and vocal critic of the government’s fleet handling. 

He pointed to a pattern where funds were mobilised for deployment-focused operations – such as large flight activities to the DRC for the MONUSCO mission-yet those same resources have not consistently flowed for pulling the helicopters home or servicing them.

“Remember when they were deploying soldiers as part of the DRC mission, there was more than one flight… from Upington to the DRC in Goma, and from Pretoria, there were lots of flight activities moving to the DRC. It was a costly exercise, and there was money for that,” Marais said. 

“Now that they need to use the same aircraft to bring back those five helicopters, they’ve got a problem with money. Its priorities and decisions – the management – are not the government’s priority.”

Marais argued that several airframes could be repaired and redeployed if there were a sustained commitment to strengthening the SANDF, warning that the procurement and readiness cycle is hampered by “purely a management decision.” 

He added that the country desperately needs the remaining unserviced aircraft to be brought into service to serve the public and the South African people.

Marius asserted that the Oryx’s fate is not a stand-alone issue. It sits at the intersection of defense policy, industrial capability, and national strategy, with the fleet’s reduced readiness having implications for international commitments, regional security tasks, and domestic emergency response. 

On Monday and Tuesday, SANDF did not respond to the publication’s various attempts to solicit a comment on the country’s military equipment, which remains stranded on international soil.

thabo.makwakwa@inml.co.za

IOL Politics

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