A Tornado fighter jet refuelling a Cheetah fighter in mid-air and the SAS Amatola replenishing at sea were some of the high points noted by task-group commanders in a military exercise involving South African and German forces.
Exercise Good Hope II took place around the Cape of Good Hope from February 20 to March 10, involving about 1 300 sailors and airmen as the navies and air forces of the two countries conducted operations using ”live” firepower, weapons systems and electronic warfare.
Commander Eckhard Bödeker, of the German navy, said on Tuesday the exercise was not a friend-or-foe operation, but rather one that sought to enhance ”military interoperability”.
As such, two of the world’s most advanced warships, South Africa’s SAS Amatola and Germany’s FGS Hamburg, together with the fighter aircraft, were protecting a virtual Berlin from attack.
”Berlin was successfully defended,” said Bödeker, adding that the combined forces reached a standard of cooperation not expected at the planning stages of the exercise.
Addressing the media at a debriefing on board the FGS Hamburg, Captain Alan Claydon-Fink said it was important to balance assets so that the two sides were worthy of each other.
Among the main challenges faced was the fact that the two countries used separate data links, with a paper messaging system used instead.
”It was slower, but worked very well,” said Claydon-Fink.
He said the recently commissioned SAS Amatola for the first time had a helicopter operating from the vessel, and even conducted a replenishment scene, which the South African navy had not done for about 20 years.
Claydon-Fink said a mail bag was passed along a distance line strung about 62m between the SAS Amatola and a German warship.
He expressed satisfaction with the German-built SAS Amatola and its crew, saying the navy had achieved ”a lot more than we set out to do”.
According to Bödeker, the German forces also had ”excellent training”, particularly because the ocean conditions experienced around the Cape coast were unlike those in the North Sea and Baltic Sea.
The Germans were also able to test their Kormoran air-to-surface missile at one of the few sites in the world, near Bredasdorp, offering open sea and air space for such large exercises.
Both Claydon-Fink and Bödeker agreed that submarines would have given an additional dimension to the naval warfare exercise, which was essentially a surface and air operation.
Asked how the smaller, ageing South African strike craft performed, Claydon-Fink commended their performance, saying even though at one stage they had to take shelter in rough seas of up to 7m, they presented a ”formidable target” and weren’t just ”hangers-on”.
Bödeker agreed, saying targets such as strike craft in a literal war are ”unpleasant” because of their ability to hide and take shelter, as well as difficulty in detecting them in high seas.
One salient factor to emerge was South Africa not having a developed maritime role for its air force.
”South Africa does not have a dedicated maritime role for the Cheetah, which is an inland squadron focusing on air defence,” said Colonel Leon Bath, of the South African Air Force. — Sapa