85 Combat Flying School SAAF

SAAF BAE Hawk

85 Combat Flying School is a unit of the South African Air Force. It is currently a jet flight-training and combat operations school. The school also has a wartime reserve role, although it has publicly been stated that the school will not be used operationally unless a very urgent need arises.

• Motto: Detrimento Sumus (Destruction is our Business)
• First formed: 1 August 1972 (at AFB Pietersburg)
• Historic aircraft flown: Mirage IIIEZ/DZ/D2Z, Canadair Sabre Mk.6, Atlas Impala Mk.I/II
• Current aircraft flown: BAE Hawk Mk.120
• Current base: AFB Makhado, Louis Trichardt

The School was recently relocated to AFB Makhado from AFB Hoedspruit into a new purpose built facility with state-of-the-art computer-aided flight training instruments. The school shares this facility with the SAAF Gripen community.

During October 2007 there were several pilots that went solo on the Hawk Mk.120.[1]

The squadron also participated in the annual SANDF force preparation exercises and fired live cannon rounds and dropped live bombs. They also had a successful weapons deployment exercise to AFB Bloemspruit in 2007.