Rapid evolution of drone technology, autonomous systems, AI and electronic warfare is forcing countries to rethink how they prepare for modern security threats, said Daniel du Plessis, vice president at Milkor Africa.
He was interviewed at the Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) Expo 2026, a major Defence expo in Africa that took place at Air Force Base Waterkloof Pretoria over the weekend,
Du Plessis said the biannual event was the largest defense expo on the continent, and essentially one of the top six exhibitions in the world for defense and military technologies. "It's combined with an air show, and attracts a lot of visitors, both from international suppliers, international delegations, and companies from other African countries," he said.
Du Plessis said it was also a platform to launch new products, showcase innovations, and foster deeper relations, specifically on the continent, but also with some international role players.
“This is important because this how you showcase as a South African defense industry, your new capabilities considering the evolving threats and challenges across African, and security and defense challenges ranging from border security issues to maritime issues, with increased insurgency activities," he said.
"it is our responsibility as the defense industry to...provide the equipment that a government or defense force might need to tackle their challenges,” he said.
He said Milkor Africa had become a leader in the South African defense industry, and on the African continent, when it comes to unmanned technologies and drones specifically.
"The Milkor 380 is the largest UAV on the African continent. Fully developed in South Africa, with an impressive statistic of flying more than 30 hours and 4,000 kilometers continuously. It is one of the best fit-for-purpose platforms that you can find on the African continent, and one of the world leaders when it comes to these technologies," he said.
“We see that modern conflicts have preferred and used small, low-cost UAVs technologies that are outfitted with artificial intelligence for semi-autonomous operations. This then poses a new risk and says, how do we address these challenges? Because these systems could be commercially available to many adversaries or many insurgent groups, as well,” he said.
Du Plessis said it is important that the South African defense industry and industry in general consider at these issues head-on, develop countermeasures for it, and stays ahead of the curve in the development of artificial intelligence, "where we see that large numbers and volumes of these systems could potentially overwhelm conventional air defense systems as well.”
Du Plessis added that the next generation of threats will definitely be low-cost unmanned systems.
“Essentially, it means we have to adequately restructure our defense environments. But it is more complex. Africa has some very complex security and defense challenges. Nevertheless, it is possible to address these concerns head-on with the existing technologies that we have,” he said.
“It will require... developing a modern force structure that is adequately prepared for the next generation of threats. These threats would typically be in the form of large quantities of low-cost systems, unmanned ground vehicles, unmanned systems, and a type of a stand-off warfare scenario. So, how we introduce new surveillance capabilities like Milkor 380 into these scenes is important.
“I think it's something that African aerospace and defense has also adequately discussed. Now, the main thing is how governments will respond to this. The technology is there, the industry is there, and South Africa provides a massive platform for African countries to modernize their capabilities quite rapidly,” he said.
yogashen.pillay@nationalmg.co.za