The defence force has all but grounded half of its multibillion-rand fighter jet fleet because of dire budget constraints, with student pilots being sent to Russia and Cuba to train. In a parliamentary reply, Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said of 26 Gripen fighter jets, 13 were in the "rotational preventative maintenance programme due to a lack of funding".President Jacob Zuma had told the Arms Deal Commission of Inquiry into the defence procurement programme that all the arms and equipment acquired were "well utilised". Mapisa-Nqakula was answering questions on how many Gripen fighter jets were in long-term storage because of a lack of funds and why they were not being used to train air force pilots .Mapisa-Nqakula said the 13 jets were under continual maintenance and the others were "operationally active".On the pilots in Russia and Cuba, she said: "Technically, we do not have any pilots training in Russia or Cuba. What we have in these countries are members identified to become student pilots."Defence analyst Helmoed Heitman, commenting on the student pilots, said: "It's strange because the air force is more than capable of doing that here in South Africa."On the rotational preventative maintenance programme Heitman said: "No air force has all its aircraft operational at all times. Many undergo maintenance. The French have 41% of their fighter aircraft operational at a time, India 55%, with Germany having 38 of their 198 fighter jets operational."He said budget constraints prevented these aircraft from flying.Darren Olivier of African Defence Review said the SAAF had adopted an effective approach given the constraints. "The aircraft in the programme are flown every 60 days. They can be upgraded to the active flight line within two days. Unless the budget is increased significantly, the SAAF may be forced to close squadrons."..