The Africa Aerospace and Defence Expo (AAD), a trade show dedicated to aeronautics and defence issues, takes place from 18 to 22 September in Pretoria, South Africa. This 2024 edition focuses in particular on the growing use of drones on the continent and the problems that this creates.
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With our special correspondent in Pretoria, Claire Bargelès
South Africa is hosting the African Air and Defence Show until 22 September 2024 at the Waterkloof airbase near Pretoria. Among the topics discussed during the public conferences, the issue of new ways of waging war is at the heart of the debates with the evolution of technologies, and in particular the growing presence of drones in military theatres.
From Ethiopia to Mali, via Burkina Faso, Niger and Somalia, everyone is equipping themselves, hoping to take advantage of new technological advances.
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” We should see a proliferation of such devices. »
Milkor, for example, is a private South African defense company that has launched the largest drone designed on the continent. And according to Harry Cassidy, head of business development, the company will be able to count on African markets: ” The operating cost of drones is much cheaper than for manned devices, thanks to their autonomy and lower maintenance, this can save money, and therefore corresponds well to the demand of the African continent. »
China and Turkey are particularly important suppliers to the continental market. But questions also arise about their use, according to Lindy Heinecken of Stellenbosch University: ” The most important thing is to determine the regulatory framework: where and how to use these drones? I think that we are still lacking, at present, a debate around their use in Africa. »
A blunder in Nigeriafor example, led to the deaths of more than 80 civilians last year.
Moreover, armed groups are also seizing these technologies, as Vasu Gounden, director of the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Conflicts (ACCORD) explains: ” The technology has become democratized, everyone has access to it. So we should see a proliferation of these types of devices and non-state armed actors are already using them. »
This threat now represents a ” paradigm shift “, as the chief of staff of the Senegalese air force described it last year.