DEFENCEWEB
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa and the University of Blida in Algeria signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a Joint Centre of Excellence in aeronautics research.
The signing took place at the International Exhibition of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Algeria in late 2014. The center would strengthen Algeria in the field of aeronautics, and South Africa’s Department of Science and Technology could expand its relationship with Algeria.
Potential fields of cooperation include technologies for unmanned aerial vehicles, avionics and ground systems, aircraft structures, gas turbines, wind tunnels, store integration, hypersonic flow, flow control, space technologies, computational methods, aero-elasticity, optronics, radar and aero acoustics.
Staff exchange programs, postgraduate student programs, joint seminars and workshops, and joint development programs will be organized at the center.
“Outside of South Africa, there are really no other significant aeronautics research capabilities and facilities in Africa,” said retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Des Barker, acting director of CSIR. Algeria “understands the requirement for Africa to take ownership of its aeronautics research requirements and is delighted to close the African aeronautics research chasm through collaboration with South Africa.”