Xavier Charnley
Managing Director
About Afaero
Local design authority. Lifecycle accountability.
Afaero Flight Systems Africa is a South African aerospace technology company founded in 2015. It designs, manufactures, integrates and operates autonomous unmanned aerial systems for industrial, infrastructure and defence applications across sub-Saharan Africa.
“Africa’s industrial sectors depend on aerial data. Afaero exists to build local accountability into that value chain.”
— Xavier Charnley, Managing Director
Real hardware
Engineered, assembled and flight-tested in-country.
Manufacturing, integration and flight testing happen at Afaero's Gauteng facility — the aircraft on this site are real programmes, not stock photography.
Leadership
The team accountable for the programme.
Gerard Charnley
Chief Operating Officer
Chanda Chishimba
Chief Financial Officer
Mofu Mubanga
Chief ICT Engineer
Ruivan Branco
Flight Operations Lead
Trajectory
From founding to integrator of record.
Founded in Sandton
Afaero Flight Systems Africa (Pty) Ltd is registered with a mandate to build sovereign unmanned aircraft capability in South Africa.
Milestone 1 validated
Engineering programme validated under the Support Programme for Industrial Innovation.
BVLOS-capable operations
Registered with the South African Civil Aviation Authority, with beyond-visual-line-of-sight capability under the operational regulatory framework.
Integrated capability stack
Engineered VTOL platforms, integrated rotorcraft options, the Autonomous Airbase programme and the mission software layer under one roof.
The integrator of record
By 2030, Afaero intends to be the integrator of record for autonomous aerial systems across sub-Saharan Africa.
Credentials
Registered, validated and transformation-led.
Founded 2015100% Black-ownedB-BBEE Level 1SACAA-registered, BVLOS-capableSPII Milestone 1 validated