Final flight test Draken Cheetah

Former Suid Afrikaanse Lugmag (SAAF, South African Air Force) Cheetah C (serial 376) performed its final flight acceptance test on 29 September 2021 ahead of being shipped to the US. This test flight marked the end of Cheetah flights in South Africa.

On 19 April 2021, Scramble Magazine wrote about this Cheetah when it made its first test flight after almost twenty years in storage.

In 2017, Draken International LLc acquired twelve ex SAAF Cheetahs (nine single seat Cheetah C and three dual seat Cheetah B or D) for adversary training for the USAF, US Navy and US Marine Corps. Draken sees the Cheetah as complementary to its recent acquisition of 22 modernised radar-equipped Spanish Mirages F1Ms. It is not yet known which civilian serial range is reserved for the Cheetahs.

To return the aircraft to airworthy status after years of storage, each Cheetah had to be reassembled and flown several times by Denel Aeronautics to make sure everything is working correctly (included upgraded avionics) before partial disassembly and shipping to the US. Starting in 2020, Denel has been flying and accepting Draken’s Cheetahs, culminating in the final flight with 376. The first two Cheetahs (a single seat and a dual seat) arrived in the US in October 2019. Denel’s most recent shipment was in June this year.

In addition to the twelve Cheetahs, Draken has acquired a vast supply of spares and equipment from Denel to support the Cheetah fleet, including the Cheetah simulator from Air Force Base Makhado.

If you have more information on the future civil registration of the Cheetahs, please let us know at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Photo via Denel Aeronautics