AAD EXPO IN SOUTH AFRICA HAS PROVIDED A PLATFORM-ARMY COMMANDER LT. GEN GEOFFREY CHOONGO ZYEELE

AAD EXPO IN SOUTH AFRICA HAS PROVIDED A PLATFORM-ARMY COMMANDER LT. GEN GEOFFREY CHOONGO ZYEELE

Pretoria – Thursday 19th September 2024

Zambia Army Commander Lt. Gen Geoffrey Choongo Zyeele says the 12th edition of the Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) expo currently going on in South Africa has provided a platform to interface with stakeholders who are key in the modernisation of the army.

Speaking yesterday in South Africa, Lt. Gen Zyeele says he is happy that in line with President Hakainde Hichilema’s directive to have the army modernised, the ongoing expo has met transformation expectations of the Zambia Army.

He says the Africa Aerospace and Defence expo is Africa’s largest exhibition of air, land, and sea hardware and that strategically, the type of equipment exhibited is the type of equipment that the Zambia Army is looking for and that what remains is to engage various stakeholders to partner with.

“As you are aware, the Commander-In Chief made a directive that we have to modernise the army and in the line of modernisation, we take advantage of such platforms to interface with industries that are charged with production, realignment, and refurbishment of hardware.

“It has been an opportunity for us to interface with a lot of companies. We have now interacted in real time with those stakeholders we interacted with online, and we are delighted that our expectations have been met. We will go back ready to start realigning in real time,” Lt. Gen Zyeele said.

And Zambia Air Force (ZAF) Commander Lieutenant General Oscar Msitu Nyoni says the ZAF Enstrom 480B helicopter being exhibited at this year’s event has attracted a lot of attention because of the different roles that it plays.

Lt. Gen. Nyoni says ZAF was able to showcase the fact that this aircraft is valuable in certain operations such as looking out for poachers as well as people involved in illegal mining and that because of the various capabilities of the helicopter, most of the exhibitors are interested in seeing what the aircraft is able to achieve.

“I must say that we are so proud because it has shown in the region our competences through the capabilities that the pilots have exhibited,” Lt. Gen. Nyoni said.

The Africa Aerospace and Defence exhibition is taking place from September 18 to 22, 2024 at the Waterkloof Air Force Base in Centurion, Gauteng and showcases the latest technological innovations in aviation, aerospace, and defence industries.

This year’s event has attracted over 30, 000 trade visitors who have the opportunity to engage with more than 140 exhibitors from the aerospace and defence sectors.