85 Combat Flying School SAAF

85 Combat Flying School is a unit of the South African Air Force (SAAF). It is a jet flight-training and combat operations school, it was first formed in 1982 at AFB Pietersburg (It was known as Advanced Flying School from 1967).[1] It relocated to AFB Hoedspruit on 1 January 1993 due to the closure of AFB Pietersburg.[1] 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.[1]

85 Combat Flying School
SAAF Bae Hawk Mk. 120
Active	1982 - Present
Country	South Africa
Branch	South African Air Force
Type	Jet flight-training and combat operations school
Current Base	AFB Makhado, Louis Trichardt
Motto(s)	Detrimento Sumus (Destruction is our Business)[1]
Anniversaries	Received Unit colours 4 October 1988, Received national colours 1989
Aircraft used currently	BAE Hawk Mk.120
Engagements	SWA/Angolan conflict.[1]

Aircraft used previously :

• Mirage IIIEZ/DZ/D2Z
• Canadair Sabre Mk.6 1975 - 1980
• Atlas Impala Mk.I/II 1972 - 2005

The school has been 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.[2]

The squadron also participated in the annual South Africa National Defence 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.