THE retiring chief of the South African Air Force (SAAF), Lt-Gen Carlo Gagiano, said on Friday the military budget was not enough to fund the air force’s operations effectively, but denied the SAAF was facing a crisis.Former defence minister Lindiwe Sisulu had admitted the South African National Defence Force’s (SANDF’s) almost R40bn annual budget was not enough, and could in fact render SA’s military incapable of defence and other tasks such as peacekeeping missions.Lt-Gen Gagiano handed over command of the SAAF to Lt-Gen Fabian Msimang at an emotional send-off on Friday. His call for funding follows reports last week in which military analysts said the SANDF was "falling apart" due to, among other factors, underfunding.The SANDF’s budget allocation for 2012-13 was R37.5bn. It was expected to grow to R39.9bn in 2013-14, and to reach R42.3bn in 2014-15.Lt-Gen Gagiano said the SAAF needed sufficient funds to maintain its fleet of aircraft, which now include a full complement of 26 Gr...
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