Despite the cold, windy weather aviation enthusiasts turned out for the second day of the Africa Aerospace and Defence airshow at Waterkloof Air Force Base outside Pretoria over the weekend. Extreme cold and cloudy weather curtailed the flying programme on Saturday with several planned events being cancelled.
Veteran airshow commentator, Brian Emmenis, paid tribute to Colonel William Dixon, who is shortly to retire from the SANDF. The long-serving member of the SA Army Infantry Formation has been involved in organising over 100 of the mini war events. The Chinese presence contrasted with the lack of American military aircraft at the defence expo. In the past, America has always contributed military aircraft to AAD either as static displays or as participants in the airshow. In 2022, the US contribution included a Boeing C-17 Globemaster, a Lockheed Martin C-130 Super Hercules and a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker.