Russia landed the world’s biggest military aircraft in SA on Wednesday — the Tupolev Tu-160 “Blackjack” bomber, in a rare display of co-operation between the defence forces of the two countries. The two bombers, which are capable of launching nuclear missiles, are the first to ever land in Africa and were escorted by fighter jets from the SA Air Force as they arrived at the Waterkloof air base in Tshwane.
The bombers arrived at about 4pm and a number of other Russian military aircraft will also land at the site. The bombers had initially been scheduled to land earlier.
“The military-to-military relations between the two countries are not solely built on struggle politics but rather on fostering mutually beneficial partnerships based on common interests,” the SA National Defence Force said in a statement. Russia’s defence ministry put out a similar statement.
The arrival of the bombers in Africa’s most industrialised nation coincides with Russian President Vladimir Putin hosting an Africa summit this week, the first such event to be organised by Russia. The nation is competing with China and the US for influence in Africa
While the ANC’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, leads the African delegation to Russia for talks with the Russian government, two Russian bombers land at South Africa’s airport.
What makes the incident even more remarkable is that Russian officers were in the bomber, which will begin with so-called police and army training.
The bombers, both of which have the characteristics of carrying nuclear weapons, were used by Russia to transport the people to Pretoria who will provide the training.
This all happened while former Russian spy President Vladimir Putin waved the flags over the first meeting held as the Russia-Africa Assembly.