Pretoria - Twelve fighter jets have been sold to Ecuador, South African company Denel Aviation said on Monday.
The Cheetah C supersonic fighter aircraft were sold to the South American country after an agreement was concluded with the country's capital, Quito, by Denel CEO Mike Kgobe.
The single seat fighter was first locally developed as a variant of the Mirage lll in the 1980s. The agreement with the Ecuadorian Air Force (FAE) will see Denel Aviation continue to provide a comprehensive maintenance and support service for at least five years following the sale, with an option for renewal.
"The on-going maintenance contract reflects the global reputation of Denel Aviation to provide maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) work to a wide range of aircraft models," said Kgobe, adding that the FAE had been looking to modernise its fighter fleet.
Kgobe described the deal as an exciting one for South Africa, since the Cheetahs had been in storage since their retirement from active duty in 2008.
The Denel Cheetah C and D aircraft were retired from service following the acquisition by South Africa of its new fleet of Saab Gripen fighter jets, under the Strategic Defence package acquisition programmes.
In April, the Cheetah fleet was inspected by an FAE team. The aircraft have been made available for sale through Armscor, the state agency responsible for the sale of surplus military products and equipment. Negotiations between Denel and the FAE have been continuing since 2009.
Denel Aviation (formerly Atlas Aircraft Corporation) was the prime contractor in the development of the Cheetah, a variant of the Dassault Mirage III, in the mid-1980s and holds the design authority for, and the maintenance expertise of the Cheetah.
Now that the deal has been concluded, complete maintenance and acceptance flight testing will be conducted in South Africa and in Ecuador.
"This is a huge breakthrough for Denel Aviation and it will open up a number of new opportunities for Denel and other players in the local industry involved in Cheetah support," said Kgobe.
