*** Welcome to piglix ***

SANDF

South African National Defence Force
SANDF emblem.jpg
Current form 1994 – present
Service branches South African Army
South African Navy
South African Air Force
Military Health Service
Headquarters Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief Jacob Zuma
Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula
Chief of the South African National Defence Force General Solly Shoke
Manpower
Military age 18–49
Available for
military service
10,354,769 males, age 18–49 (2005),
10,626,550 females, age 18–49 (2005)
Fit for
military service
4,927,757 males, age 18–49 (2005),
4,609,071 females, age 18–49 (2005)
Reaching military
age annually
512,407 males (2005),
506,078 females (2005)
Active personnel 78,707
Reserve personnel 15,107
Expenditures
Budget $US 4.572 billion
Percent of GDP 1.1% (2010–2011)
Industry
Domestic suppliers Denel, Paramount Group, Reutech Radar Systems
Foreign suppliers AgustaWestland, BAE Systems, Heckler & Koch, IVECO, MAN, Saab AB, Thales, ThyssenKrupp
Related articles
History Military history of South Africa
List of wars involving South Africa
Ranks South African military ranks

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the armed forces of South Africa. The commander of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the armed services. They are in turn accountable to the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans of the Defence Department.

The military as it exists today was created in 1994, following South Africa's first post-apartheid national elections and the adoption of a new constitution. It replaced the South African Defence Force.

The SANDF took over the personnel and equipment from the SADF and integrated forces from the former Bantustan homelands forces, as well as personnel from the former guerrilla forces of some of the political parties involved in South Africa, such as the African National Congress's Umkhonto we Sizwe, the Pan Africanist Congress's Azanian People's Liberation Army and the Self-Protection Units of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).

As of 2004, the integration process was considered complete, with retaining personnel, structure, and equipment from the SADF. However, due to integration problems, financial constraints, and other issues, the SANDF faced capability constraints.'

The South African Commando System was a civil militia active until 2008, based upon local units from the size of company to battalion. In its final years its role was to support the South African Police Service during internal operations. During such deployments the units came under SAPS control.

According to the Defence Ministry's 2014 Defence Review, the SANDF is "in a critical state of decline".


...
Wikipedia

...