{"id":8808,"date":"2026-09-03T11:05:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T11:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/8808\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T11:05:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T11:05:10","slug":"ramaphosa-visits-denel-facilities-making-good-on-an-aad-2024-commitment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/8808\/","title":{"rendered":"Ramaphosa visits Denel facilities, making good on an AAD 2024 commitment"},"content":{"rendered":"

With just two weeks to go to the Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) 2026 Exhibition and Conference, President Cyril Ramaphosa paid an oversight visit to Denel, touring four of the state-owned defence manufacturer\u2019s facilities across Gauteng on Wednesday 2 September.<\/p>\n

The Presidency said that the visit follows a commitment made by the President to do so during AAD 2024 and signals the government\u2019s continued support for Denel as efforts continue to rebuild the embattled company\u2019s capabilities.<\/p>\n

The President\u2019s tour began at Denel Aerospace in Kempton Park, where he, accompanied by Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Angie Motshekga, was welcomed by Denel Aerospace Group Executive Chris Boshoff. The President was subsequently taken on a brief tour of the facilities, including the Oryx and Rooivalk helicopter hangars, where he took the opportunity to sit in a Rooivalk cockpit.<\/p>\n

\"\"President Ramaphosa sits in the cockpit of a Denel Rooivalk attack helicopter. Photo: via the Presidency<\/p>\n

While at Denel\u2019s Kempton Park facility Ramaphosa also visited the Denel Technical Academy, taking the opportunity to talk with a number of Denel staff and trainees under the guidance of General Manager Zandile Dotwana.<\/p>\n

Following this, the President moved on to Denel Land Systems in Lyttleton, Centurion, where he undertook a guided tour of the Badger programme, stock and simulator stations, as well as infantry, artillery, and armoured vehicles under the direction of Denel Land Systems General Manager Tebogo Chauke.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>President Cyril Ramaphosa at Denel\u2019s Lyttelton campus. Photo: SANDF<\/p>\n

The President\u2019s final visit was to Denel Pretoria Metal Pressings (PMP) in Lotus Gardens, Pretoria. Denel PMP General Manager Thabo Meletse guided the President through the facilities, providing insight into PMP\u2019s production capabilities and its role in supporting South Africa\u2019s defence manufacturing requirements.<\/p>\n

PMP, which manufactures small- and medium-calibre ammunition, brass products, detonics, power cartridges and mining drill bits, has been gaining increased attention in recent months following reports of renewed interest in reviving and modernising its production capabilities, including an offer from US-based investors.<\/p>\n

According to several social media posts by the Presidency, the visit to Denel\u2019s various operations served as an opportunity for the President to assess Denel\u2019s capabilities and contribution to South Africa\u2019s defence industry and national security.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe company plays a strategic role in national security by providing South Africa with access to advanced technologies, systems and platforms that contribute to the operational readiness and strategic independence of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF),\u201d the Presidency said.<\/p>\n

A later post added that the President\u2019s visit \u201cunderscores the strategic importance of Denel to South Africa\u2019s defence capabilities and demonstrates continued government support for the company as a state-owned enterprise with a critical role in the country\u2019s defence architecture and defence industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

The President\u2019s visit to Denel follows less than two months after the conclusion of the country\u2019s inaugural Defence Industry Lekgotla held in Pretoria the past July, where around 300 delegates from government and the private sector discussed proposals to enhance South Africa\u2019s defence industrial capabilities not just to ensure the industry\u2019s continued viability, but to safeguard South Africa\u2019s national sovereignty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With just two weeks to go to the Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) 2026 Exhibition and Conference, President…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8809,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[14],"class_list":["post-8808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-defence-industry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8808\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/defence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}