South African Defence Force

The South African Defence Force (SADF) was the name of the South African military from 1957 to 1994. It replaced the Union Defence Force (UDF) in 1957. The SADF, in turn, was replaced by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in 1994.

The South African Defence Force had four branches: the South African Army, the South African Navy, the South African Air Force, and, the South African Medical Service.

The SADF implemented conscription of  white South Africans. However, black, Indian, and Coloured South Africans could serve in the SADF as volunteers.

Within South Africa, the SADF was used to suppress opposition to apartheid, often directly supporting the South African Police. South African military units were also involved in the Angolan Civil War an the side of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and Angolan rebel leader Jonas Savimbi. The SADF was also deployed during the related South African border and Namibian independence wars.

 Nuclear weapons 
South Africa was the only country in Africa to have nuclear weapons, but these weapons were destroyed by the South African government during the transition to democracy. South Africa has not built nuclear weapons since.

 Integration 
With the multiracial democracy introduced to South Africa in 1994, the SADF was merged with the defence forces of several formerly "independent" homelands, as well as the ANC's Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation), the PAC's Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA), and the self-protection units of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IPA). The new South African military became known as the South African National Defence Force.

References

Defence Force
Category:1957 establishments in Africa
Category:1994 disestablishments
Category:20th-century establishments in South Africa
Category:20th-century disestablishments in South Africa
Category:1990s disestablishments in Africa