The defence ministry has denied Jacob Zuma will buy an aircraft carrier, with convicted fraudster Tony Yengeni deciding who would get the contract.

Company that loses contract takes defence department to court to explain its decision.

In a hard-hitting analysis, the Institute for Security Studies has lambasted the ministerial report on which the Military Veterans Bill is based.

South Africa's ineffective border patrol poses a threat to the country's security, a report by Parliament's portfolio committee said on Thursday.

Fancy your own Boeing 707? The Defence Department has a couple to spare, no doubt going cheap.

Members of the South African National Defence Force Union on Friday called for Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota to step down.

Arms manufacturer Denel still needs R1,7-billion promised by the government to complete its turnaround, outgoing CEO Shaun Liebenberg said on Wednesday. "When Denel reached technical insolvency in June 2005, the shareholder faced three options: to close Denel; to retain it on a subsidy basis; or to turn it into a commercially viable business," Liebenberg said.

The South African National Defence Force Union on Wednesday threatened to lay a criminal charge against Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota for contravening the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The union also wants the Labour Department to take action against the South African National Defence Force for non-compliance with health and safety legislation.

The fatal shooting at the South African Air Force College in Thaba Tshwane outside Pretoria on Thursday is an indication of the "outstanding transformation" work still needed in the defence force, the South African Security Forces Union said on Friday. An air-force candidate officer allegedly shot two of his instructors, killing one.

A military board of inquiry into an accident in which nine soldiers were killed has begun its work, Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said on Wednesday. Lekota was visiting seven troopers in various Bloemfontein hospitals, who were injured in the anti-aircraft gun accident at the Lohatla training area in the Northern Cape last Friday.