The Aerospace Industry: Prospects for strategic co-operation among the IBSA countries

The report assesses the potential for aerospace collaboration between India, Brazil, and South Africa, noting that while there is high political interest and complementary capabilities, actual collaboration is currently minimal. It highlights South Africa's strategic shift toward becoming a preferred supplier of subsystems to global contractors, exemplified by its role in the Airbus A400M programme. Key opportunities for IBSA co-operation include expanding supply chains for regional aircraft, collaborating on strategic defence systems, and developing small and micro satellites. However, the report identifies significant barriers, most notably corruption allegations involving Denel and the Indian government, as well as the challenge of balancing South-South co-operation with existing partnerships with 'first-tier' Northern contractors.

• The global aerospace industry is dominated by a few economic powers, particularly the US, and is characterized by high entry barriers for emerging economies due to restrictive legislation and stringent certification requirements.
• South Africa's aerospace strategy, through the Aerospace Industry Support Initiative (AISI), aims to position the sector as a high-value global manufacturing industry and a regional African transport hub by 2014, mirroring the model of the automotive sector.
• South Africa has integrated into global supply chains through the A400M military transport aircraft programme with Airbus Military SL, securing design-and-build contracts valued at approximately €400 million for the first 188 aircraft, with an additional €350 million expected from future production.
• Despite political support, there is currently little to no aerospace collaboration between South Africa, India, and Brazil, although industry representatives agree on the need to collaborate to counter the domination of major industrial countries.
• Three primary areas for IBSA co-operation have been identified: expanding aerospace supply chains (specifically leveraging Brazil's Embraer for the African regional aircraft market), collaborating on aerospace systems for strategic defence, and joint development of small and micro satellites.
• Corruption allegations by the Indian government against Denel regarding bribes for arms contracts—specifically a R24 million contract for anti-matériel rifles and an R88 million contract for ammunition—represent a major threat to IBSA co-operation.
• Industry experts suggest that developing a new global low-cost aircraft engine is prohibitively expensive; therefore, value addition should focus on R&D, shared research, and co-operation on existing programmes like Embraer regional aircraft.

APA

Soko, M. (2006). The Aerospace Industry: Prospects for strategic co-operation among the IBSA countries. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/Trade-Report-No-13-Final.pdf

Chicago

Soko, Mills. The Aerospace Industry: Prospects for strategic co-operation among the IBSA countries. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2006. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/Trade-Report-No-13-Final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Soko |first1=Mills |title=The Aerospace Industry: Prospects for strategic co-operation among the IBSA countries |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=April 2006 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/Trade-Report-No-13-Final.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{soko2006aerospace, author = {Soko, Mills}, title = {{The Aerospace Industry: Prospects for strategic co-operation among the IBSA countries}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2006}, month = apr, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/Trade-Report-No-13-Final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }