South Africa has still not bought a single Milkor 380 drone, four years after the company set aside five for the SANDF. The Cape Town built aircraft is flying for a customer in the Middle East instead, Milkor said.
Milkor vice-president for Africa Daniel du Plessis spoke to TechCentral after the Africa Aerospace and Defence expo in September. The show was held at Air Force Base Waterkloof.
“South Africa is not a direct customer in the sense that they have bought,” Du Plessis told TechCentral.
At the same expo in 2022, Milkor said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the department of defence, Armscor and the South African Air Force. The plan was to build five aircraft in 2023 for testing and possible use in South Africa.
Since then, Du Plessis said, there have been trials, demonstrations and contract talks. He said the process is “still ongoing”.
He said money is the problem, not interest. “It’s not that they don’t want to use it,” he said. He called the SANDF “severely underfunded” and said government must allocate the funds.
Du Plessis said there are plans, “hopefully within the next year”, to start bringing the drone into the SANDF. He said the drone could have helped South African troops in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they served until this year.
In a statement on 5 June, Parliament’s joint standing committee on defence said about 70% of the defence budget now goes on salaries. The planned split was 40% for staff, 30% for running costs and 30% for capital spending.
Committee co-chair Phiroane Phala said the defence force cannot “rejuvenate its capabilities” or “sustain the defence industry that supports it”.
TechCentral asked the SANDF, Armscor and the Air Force what happened to the 2022 agreement. None of them had replied by the time of publication.
Du Plessis would not name the Middle East buyer, citing confidentiality. He said the drone has been in use there “for some time now”. He expects orders from African countries and said there is “huge interest” from Latin America.
The 380 weighs 1.5 tonnes at take-off. It can fly for more than 30 hours and cover 4 000km. It is mainly used for surveillance, but some countries want to use it for strikes, he said.
At the September expo, Milkor signed an agreement with European missile maker MBDA to fit its weapons on the 380. The drone was shown with two MBDA Sea Venom anti-ship missiles.
Du Plessis said the Border Management Authority is the clearest local fit. Milkor pitched the drone to the BMA in July. “They have vast areas that are unpatrolled by vehicles and limited human resources and soldiers on the ground,” he said.
According to a parliamentary reply, the BMA had received eight multi-rotor drones through Armscor by December 2025. Two fixed-wing drones were also being bought. Du Plessis said the BMA also has “limited funds available”.
About 99% of the 380 is built in South Africa, with only the engine imported, Du Plessis said. Its cameras, radar and electronic warfare systems come from other local defence companies.
Milkor has also signed agreements with foreign suppliers Hanwha Systems, LIG D&A and Safran. Du Plessis said these deals are for fitting sensors and other equipment that Milkor does not make itself.
He said South Africans at Milkor in Cape Town have “built something that many countries, not even companies, but countries, have tried and failed”.
Source: this article is based on reporting by TechCentral. Image: TechCentral. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Technology desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Werner Jacobs covers technology for Tzaneen Voice. Werner reports on mobile networks, data prices, internet access, smartphones, apps, AI, cybersecurity and South African tech companies. Each story explains what a new product, price change or policy means for ordinary users in South Africa.