Defence and Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga has pitched South Africa’s defence and aerospace industry as a driver of manufacturing, jobs and technological development.

Opening the Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) trade exhibition at Air Force Base Waterkloof in Pretoria on Wednesday, Motshekga said advances in defence technology could have economic benefits extending well beyond the military.

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“Each breakthrough in aerospace, maritime and defence technologies strengthens our industrial base, creates new opportunities for local manufacturing, and opens pathways for our youth to participate in high-tech industries,” she said.

“Technology and innovation are the livelihood of modern economies. The systems we see here, from advanced aerospace platforms to unmanned technologies and cyber solutions, are not only tools of defence, they are engines of industrialisation because they generate jobs, stimulate research and development, and foster skills

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