A pioneering South African drone flew years before UAVs were a thing

A South African drone was flying over Angola’s battlefields long before Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) had entered the public consciousness. And despite the complicated Apartheid context, it’s yet another example that South Africa used to do pretty remarkable things …  

The Seeker South African drone was developed by a state arms company called Kentron. Only later would this morph into Denel Dynamics. You must remember that Apartheid South Africa existed under a hefty arm embargo. So, it had to develop all its own military weapons for protection.

KENTRON SEEKER SOUTH AFRICAN DRONE

The UAV first entered South African Air Force (SAAF) service in 1986. And it flew with 10 Squadron from Potchefstroom to provide reconnaissance and artillery fire control. The South African drone first saw combat deployment in Angola during Operation Modular in 1987.

Remarkably, the UAV carried a television camera that beamed live images back to its handlers. It could stay aloft for up to 10 hours at around 18 000 feet with a 40-kg payload. Its job was to find targets and help direct the G5 howitzer’s long-range fire, without risking a pilot.

BEFORE DRONES WERE COMMON PLACE

Now, while the internet loves to call this South African drone the first of its kind, it’s widely acknowledged by military historians that the Israeli Scout predates the Kentron Seeker. However, the Seeker was actually developed with covert Israeli support. Likewise, the first Seekers was unarmed and for reconnaissance only. Therefore, armed variants, the Seeker 400, only came later.

Nevertheless, the Kentron Seeker was wildly successful in its first sorties. While the exact tally is debated, its loss rate was very low. It was small, fast, hard to hit and sturdy even when it was. Some say as few as three were downed by the enemy. And even that was a ‘relatively cheap’ price to pay because it carried no crew. A Seeker lost to an expensive missile was a trade-off the SAAF was glad to make for the intelligence gained.

LEGACY LIVES ON

The pioneering legacy of this South African drone lasts on. 10 Squadron stopped UAV operations in November 1990 and disbanded by March 1991, but the Seeker line continued its development under Denel. They were sold abroad, with operators today reportedly including the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Algeria today.

But what do you think? Did you know about the pioneering Kentron Seeker South African drone? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below …