page_title: South African Air Force
section_title: Air Defence Artillery Group
hierarchical_section_title: South African Air Force / History / Border War / Air Defence Artillery Group
caption_attribution_description: English: Hilda (Tiger Cat) missile system. en:South African National Museum of Military History
context_page_description: The South African Air Force is the air warfare branch of South African National Defence Force, with its headquarters in Pretoria. The South African Air Force was established on 1 February 1920. The Air Force has seen service in World War II and the Korean War. From 1966 the SAAF was involved in providing infantry support in a low intensity war in Angola, South-West Africa and Rhodesia. As the war progressed, the intensity of air operations increased until in the late 1980s, the SAAF were compelled to fly fighter missions against Angolan aircraft in order to maintain tactical air superiority. On conclusion of the Border War in 1990, aircraft numbers were severely reduced due to economic pressures as well as the cessation of hostilities with neighbouring states. Today the SAAF has a limited air combat capability and has been structured towards regional peace-keeping, disaster relief and maritime patrol operations. During the apartheid era, it was also known by its Afrikaans name of Suid-Afrikaanse Lugmag, a moniker which has since been deprecated.
context_section_description: The 250 Air Defence Artillery Group, also known as the 250 Air Defence Unit (ADU), was a group of air defence squadrons that operated under the control of the South African Air Force tasked with airbase defence. The group consisted of 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129 and 130 Squadrons and had its own active Citizen Force component. These squadrons were equipped with the Tigercat mobile surface-to-air missile system, The Cactus surface-to-air missile system, the ZU-23-2 23mm Anti-Aircraft Gun and the Bofors 40 mm gun.
  120 Squadron mainly operated the Cactus missile system operationally in platoons from 1973 until the late 1980s with each platoon consisting of one Acquisition and Co-ordination Unit (ACU) and two or three firing units, with a battery having two platoons. 121 Squadron, 123 Squadron and later 129 Squadron mainly operated the Tigercat mobile surface-to-air missile system. In South African service it was given the name "Hilda". 123 Squadron was deployed for Operation Savannah in 1975 to provide air defence for Air Force Base Grootfontein in South-West Africa. 129 Squadron was deployed to Air Force Base Ondangwa for the remainder of the Border War to provide air defence for the logistics base and airfield there, as it was an important staging area for the South African Defence Force for their operations in neighbouring Angola.
  The Air Defence Artillery Group was disbanded in 1992 after the Cactus missile system was retired, with only remnants of 120 Squadron, operating the upgraded Cactus Container system, becoming a part of Air Command Control Unit at Snake Valley opposite Air Force Base Swartkop on the eastern side of the shared runway. 120 Squadron was finally disbanded in 2002 after these systems were retired.
caption: The Hilda Missile System as it was used by the 250 Air Defence Artillery Group
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