The information above hopefully answers your question.

However, if you’re talking about the Falklands War and the early 1980’s, then officially at least, South Africa did not operate the Exocet until the Valour class entered service in 2006. They only operated the Skerpioen (Scorpion) missile from the then Minister class FAC. The Skerpioen is basically a Gabriel Mk2 AShM with a range of just under 40km.

http://navy.org.za/pages/skerpioen

However……

South Africa did order 4 corvettes from Spain with Portugal as an intermediatary in the early 1970’s. They were to be equipped with the Exocet. Portugals coup put paid to that plan, and they were incorporated into the Portuguese Navy as the Baptista de Andrade class. (1974)

The South Africans then ordered two A-69 Aviso’s from France, which were also embargo’ed just before delivery (1978). They currently serve with Argentina. Most interestingly though, was that the weapon and sensor fit between the two classes ordered were precisely the same, meaning that the equipment was moved from the de Andrade class to the A-69 class after cancellation. I do know that South African owned equipment was removed from the A-69 class after the embargo.

Whether South Africa owned Exocets at that stage is unknown and nobody is saying anything. I have never seen any displayed from that time period.

Sorry, I should have been clearer, I only meant the air-launched variant. But it is puzzling, I can’t find any sources that the SAAF ever operated it, yet in the above mentioned book and several others it claims South Africa did at least order the missile. Although, the only sources I can find, which tend to deal with South Africa allegedly trying to sell some to Argentina during the Falklands, talk in generalities.