Setback for South African navy

SAN frigates and submarines will not be retrofitted in the near future

The German Navy was once the "Parent Navy" for South Africa. Good Hope, minesweepers, visits ...

The four MEKO A-200SAN frigates and the three submarines are manufactured in Germany and are in need of an overhaul. Now the South African Ministry of Finance has declared that there is hardly any room for additional funds for the overhaul of the South African Navy's frigates and submarines. The mid-life upgrades of the South African Navy's frigates and submarines are currently on hold due to a lack of funds. There will be no upgrades to the frigates until at least 2033 and to the submarines until 2035.

Due to the funding bottlenecks, only one of the four frigates, SAS Amatola, was partially refitted in 2014/15 and only one of the three submarines, SAS Manthatisi, in 2013/14. According to the Ministry of Defence, funds were no longer available for the refit of the remaining three frigates (SAS Isandlwana, SAS Spioenkop and SAS Mendi) and the submarine SAS Queen Modjadji, as these refits were due.

According to the Ministry of Defence, the estimated average cost for the overhaul of a frigate is R 687 million and for the overhaul of a submarine R 660 million.

Until the outstanding overhauls are completed, the South African Navy is currently focussing on maintaining and repairing the frigates SAS Spioenkop and SAS Mendi, the combat support ship SAS Drakensberg and the submarine SAS Manthatisi as a matter of priority in order to ensure their rapid operational capability.