{"id":103014,"date":"2026-01-10T09:07:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T07:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=103014"},"modified":"2026-01-10T09:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T07:07:10","slug":"experts-warn-sandf-lacks-capacity-to-defend-south-africa-against-major-threats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/experts-warn-sandf-lacks-capacity-to-defend-south-africa-against-major-threats\/","title":{"rendered":"Experts warn SANDF lacks capacity to defend South Africa against major threats"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a> <\/em>
\n3-minute read<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

Experts warn that underfunding and non-operational equipment have left the SANDF unable to defend the country against major threats. \ud83d\udcf7<\/p><\/div>\n

Military analysts have raised serious concerns about the state of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), warning that the country is effectively unable to defend itself against a potential attack by a major military power.<\/p>\n

While there is no immediate threat of an external assault, experts say the situation remains deeply worrying, particularly given the deteriorating condition of military equipment and persistent funding constraints.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Radio Islam International,<\/em> <\/a>Military Analyst Helmoed Heitman said South Africa has never realistically been able to defend itself against global powers such as the United States, China, India or Russia. However, he stressed that this does not mean the country should be left defenceless.<\/p>\n

\u201cSouth Africa could never have defended itself against a major power,\u201d Heitman said. \u201cThe most we could ever do was make the cost of attacking us higher than it was worth.\u201d<\/p>\n

He explained that historically, the country\u2019s military capabilities were structured around deterrence rather than outright defence. Submarines, in particular, played a crucial role in raising the potential cost of any hostile action.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was, in a sense, the role of the submarines,\u201d Heitman said, adding that their presence once limited foreign involvement in the region. \u201cNot because they could not be defeated, but because it would have cost too much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heitman noted that a properly funded, medium-sized defence force could still serve South Africa well by deterring smaller powers and assisting neighbouring countries under threat. However, he emphasised that sustained investment is essential.<\/p>\n

Comparatively, South Africa still ranks relatively well against other militaries south of the equator, but this advantage is undermined by the poor state of its equipment. \u201cWe\u2019ve got good people in the defence force,\u201d he said. \u201cBut without the equipment, they can\u2019t do much. And without equipment, it\u2019s very difficult to train to a proper standard.\u201d<\/p>\n

He warned that regional instability could quickly expose these weaknesses. Should insurgency in Mozambique spread southwards, South Africa would struggle to protect strategic interests such as power stations, gas fields and trade routes through the Mozambique Channel.<\/p>\n

South Africa\u2019s modest submarine fleet, Heitman said, also remains severely underutilised. With only one submarine partially operational, the country lacks a key strategic surveillance tool. \u201cEven two operational submarines would make a big power think twice,\u201d he said, noting their value in intelligence gathering and regional monitoring.<\/p>\n

Despite heightened global tensions and recent developments in Venezuela, Heitman believes South Africa is unlikely to face sudden external attacks. \u201cWe\u2019re simply not important enough strategically,\u201d he said, explaining that Venezuela\u2019s situation is driven by oil and geopolitical interests that do not apply to South Africa.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, experts caution that without urgent intervention and adequate funding, South Africa\u2019s defence capabilities will continue to decline, leaving the country increasingly exposed in an uncertain global environment.<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on The Daily Round-Up<\/em><\/a> with Moulana Ibrahim Daya and Helmoad Heitman.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read Military analysts have raised serious concerns about the state of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), warning that the country is effectively unable to defend itself against a potential attack by a major military power. While there is no immediate threat of an external assault, experts say the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":103015,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SANDF.jpeg?fit=265%2C190&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-qNw","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-11 16:11:32","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}