Defence, Peace, Safety and Security Council for Scientific and Industrial Research

Christo Cloete joined the South African Air Force in 1984 after completing his B.Ing. Electronic degree at the University of Pretoria. He started his career in Electronic Warfare (EW), with a specialization in Communication EW and gained valuable experience in the utilization of EW in the operational environment during the Angolan conflict. Working in the South African EW industry at Sysdel, Christo was involved in the development of airborne, ground, and naval ESM (Electronic Support Measures)/ELINT (Electronic Intelligence) systems, the upgrade and support of existing ESM and ECM (Electronic Countermeasure) systems, the repair and EW exploitation of captured radar-based weapon systems, and the development of RF threat simulators and flight-line support equipment. He moved into defense research when he joined the CSIR in 1995, where he was responsible for managing and growing the RF EW research and applications capability. He is currently fulfilling the role of RF EW principal researcher, systems engineer, and mentor.