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The National Aerospace Centre (NAC) is a national aerospace-focussed programme managed and hosted by The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (Wits).

The NAC’s mandate throughout its existence has been to:

• Ensure that leading edge, commercially significant research and development, with concomitant skills development is undertaken within the domestic aerospace & defence sectors and where appropriate, in collaboration with the international and domestic industry, apply these research outcomes within the sector.
• Provide mechanisms for:
  • The development of international and domestic partnerships,
  • New or more competitive technologies and products,
  • New indigenous knowledge,
  • Skilled human resources development, and
  • Adequate and sustainable technology transfer into the industry
• Most significantly, operates in support of government’s drive to create real and meaningful jobs and sustainable businesses within the economy.

It is therefore important to note that:

• The NAC acts as a non-prescriptive national coordinating body for all relevant aeronautics, defence, and space related entities within South African academia and industry,
• It develops and maintain its own programmes (guided by national strategy) and technical Thematic Areas,
• The NAC, through these Thematic Areas, provides support and technical direction for students, research entities, and specialist researchers,
• It’s mandate throughout its existence has always been to foster partnerships between academia and domestic and international industry,
• These thematic areas are therefore the de-facto custodians of the research effort and human capital development (HCD) outputs, thus ensuring that broader participation is encouraged and maintained for all domestic academia, and
• It also sources research and HCD funding, supports research content and research direction, and coordinates with all applicable universities in South Africa.