, South African National Defence Force (SANDF) Chief Siphiwe Nyanda officially opened the 4th South African Joint Air Defence Symposium in Pretoria today.
The symposium aims to provide a forum for people in the air defence sector to exchange information and ideas on technology and solutions on a formal and informal basis.
The three-day symposium is held every two years and more than 500 delegates from around Africa attended it.
General Nyanda said the SANDF would continue to strive for best standards and exchange information and ideas with the world's biggest armies to acquire more skills and technology.
“We want to be rated among the top armies in the world,” said General Nyanda. “We will continue to send our personnel to acquire best training with the international defence forces.”
The first symposium was held in the country in 1997 and was an effort initiated by the South African Army and focused mainly on its ground defence.
Since then the symposium has evolved to address air defence and related elements from a joint perspective.
General Nyanda said air defence capability was a critical component of any defence force and was designed to counter first world threats.
It comprises state-of-the art technology.
