Under the African manufacturing countries from light weapons are South Africa, Simbabwe, Nigeria, Namibia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Egypt.

South Africa

The largest manufacturing country is South Africa, which inherited a progressive and multilayered weapon industry from the apartheid regime. At present there are approximately 700 arms enterprises with 22.500 persons employed (end of the 80's were even 160,000) in South Africa. With most it concerns small and middle enterprises. The officially denationalized and company Denel converted into a corporation is still in the state property and has with its nearly 11,000 coworkers in South Africa a market share of over 50% in the defense sector.

The larger manufacturers of armaments are organized in the South African Aerospace maritime one & Defence Industries Association (AMD). To it belong:

• Advanced of material Technology (OFFICE) - importer of glass fiber, Aramid,"…
• Advanced Technologies and engineering
• Aerosud (Pty) Ltd. - airplane modernization and - mechanism, maintenance
• African Defence of system (Thales Group) - electronic systems for the weapon control and engagements guidance
• African Non Destructive Testing Centre (Pty) Ltd.
• Ansys Integrated of system (Pty) Ltd.
• Aerospace monitoring and of system (Pty) Ltd. (AMS) - flight and engine control instruments, flight writers
• ARMSCOR - akquiriert suppliers for the armed forces, test and development
• Aztec Components (Pty) Ltd. - batteries for airplanes, torpedoes,"…
• BAE country of system
• BAE of system
• Boeing internationally corporation - Africa
• Bohlabela Wheels (Pty) Ltd.
• CCII system (pty) Ltd. (C I system) - radar consoles, information management systems
• Contactserve (Pty) Ltd. - electronic construction units
• Cybersim (Pty) Ltd. - consultation, logistics, material marking,
• Defencetek (A division OF CSIR) - development
• Demco (Pty) Ltd. - mine clearing operation systems
• Denel
  • Denel aviation - building, change and maintenance of airplanes
  • Eloptro - laser systems, submarine periscopes, optical systems
  • Kentron - rockets, UAV's, optical systems
  • La Forge - metal construction units for ammunition and the automobile industry
  • LIW - Artillery systems, turrets
  • Mechem - mine-clearing equipment and - services
  • Na - cannon and mortar ammunition
  • OTB - Test area
  • Pretoria Metal Pressing (PMP) - ammunition, industrielle explosive
  • Somchem - propellant means, chemical products
  • Swartklip - explosives, ammunition, shells
  • Vector - firearms, also for the civilian range
• Emzansi engineering Consultants - development within all technical ranges
• Epsilon engineering services (Pty) Ltd. - condition monitors, bomb wing, cannon beddings, medical equipment
• GISCOE (Pty) Ltd. - Bildauswertung, mission planning systems
• Grintek Group Ltd.
  • Grintel Telecom
  • Grintek Electronics
  • Grintel Communication of system (joint venture 51% Grintek/49% SAAB) - tactical communication systems
  • Grintek Ewation (Pty) Ltd. - joint venture (55% Grintek/45% EADS) - mark: "“MRCM"”
  • Grintek Defence & Technologies division (co-operation with SAAB) - ELINT, ESM, ECM, warning systems against rockets, radar, laser
• IFS Defence SA (Pty) Ltd.
• Internex
• IS Dynamics
• Country Mobility Technologies
• Lechabile quality Strategies
• M-Tek - electromechanical components, video systems, angle of inclination measurers
• OMC (Pty) Ltd.
• Osprey Group
  • Osprey Aerospace (Pty) Ltd. - selling for different marks:
    • British Aerospace Defence Military aircraft - Hawk jet trainer
    • Jetstream aircraft Limited
    • Avro internationally Aerospace - BAe 146
    • Martin Baker - ejection seats
    • Swearingen - SJ30
    • Honeywell - avionics systems
    • Kollsman - instruments
    • To era-to - safety equipment
  • Parachute Industries OF South Africa (Pty) Ltd. - military and civilian person and load parachutes
• Paramount Logistics - procurement, integration, maintenance and financing of vehicles, airplanes and equipment
• Parsec (Pty) Ltd. - electronic construction units for military, industry and telecommunications
• Reunert Group
  • Reutech Group
    • Fox Electronics - bomb fuzes
    • Reutech radar of system (RRS) - 2D and 3D-Radarsysteme, tracking systems
    • Reunert Defence Logistics (RDI) - logistic services and production of systems for the South African army
    • RDI Communications - radio systems
• Siemens Ltd. - General ship electronics (government inspection department,
• Sinjana engineering CC
• ROPE Aerospace (Pty) Ltd.
• Tellumat Defence - IFF, radar altimeter, government inspection department, (secured) radio data transmission connections, microwave communication
• Thales Aerospace Business Group (France)
  • Flightcraft aviation of system - South African Advanced air Traffic control system (SAAATS)
  • Thales air Traffic management - South African Advanced air Traffic control system (SAAATS)
• Thales Advanced engineering (Pty) Ltd. - communication equipment, video transmission and treatment of pictures. Thales Advanced engineering (TAE) [http://www.thales.co.zaist an independent, South African enterprise, which led the name Thales for a long time before renaming of Thompson CSF (France) and not to the Thales Group heard.

Further weapon manufacturers:

• MGL Milkor marketing (Pty) Ltd. (40-mm-Granatgewehre);
• ARAM (Pty) Ltd. (heavy 12,7-mm-Maschinengewehre)
• New generation Ammunition (ammunition)
• Truvelo Armoury division (pistols, rifles and parts for light weapons)

To official data the country exports arms products into 61 different countries, predominantly in the Near East and in Africa. The most important customer is Algeria.

Further customers are:

• India, People's Republic of China, combined Arab emirates, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Kuwait, Oman, Peru, Swaziland, Republic of the Congo, Botswana, Uganda, Rwanda, Tunesien, d'Ivoire, Kenya, Zambia, Mozambique and Mexico. Malaysia is to have stated interest in the attack helicopter Rooivalk.

In the year 2001 altogether 32 % of the South African weapon exports went to Africa, whereby 28 % of the exports were allotted in Africa to Algeria, to which South Africa among other things UAV airplanes so mentioned (unmanned reconnaissance planes) and combat helicopter of the type Mil Mi24 Hind of Soviet origin sold. The remaining exports divided themselves as follows: 15 the % Middle East, 16 % south Asia, 15 % remaining Asia, 16 % Europe, 5 % America and 1 % the United Nations (equipment of the blue helmets).

Not all countries are supplied with the same system of the South African armaments industry. The export laws for armaments differentiate between four categories, which are subject to different control conditions with export:

• Category A: Sensitive major Significant equipment (SMSE) - weapons, which cause a high number of victims and large material damage
• Category B: Sensitive Significant equipment (SSE) - light weapons
• Category C: Non Sensitive equipment (NSE) - systems, those the support with fighting serve and even no deadly function have (for example logistics and telecommunication systems)
• Category D: Non Lethal equipment (NLE) - defense systems, like for example systems for defusing mines

Some countries can buy only systems of the two last categories (thus not deadly systems), as for example Simbabwe, which was supplied in the case of the last supply in the year 2000 only with systems of the category D.

Simbabwe

Also Simbabwe inherited an armaments industry in the initial stage from the previous regime (under that the country still Rhodesien was called). On this basis 1984 the Zimbabwe Defence Industries (ZDI) developed. This enterprise manufactures light weapons, ammunition and mines. The know-how for the production of explosive and shells was supplied from France, while China in the country built armament makers for infantry weapons. To the customers of the ZDI Angola (regular armed forces and rebel of the UNITA) belongs, Sudanese rebels and the democratic Republic of the Congo. In the Congo, where the troops Mugabes, which Congolese president Kabila in the exchange supports against the supplies of the ZDI, is it Harare succeeded concessions for the purchase of 37,5% the the national Congolese mining company to obtain. Before end of the war in Angola there were discussions between Luanda and Harare over the establishment of a common enterprise for the production of weapons. With end of the war the Angolan government seems to have lost the interest in the enterprise however.

Above all the ZDI manufactures light weapons (a copy of the Israeli submachine gun of the type Uzi and the Czech machine gun type CZ25) and ammunition for these weapons (9mm and 20mm) and for garnet thrower (60, 81 and 120 mm), anti-person and anti-armor-piercing shells. To the official customers Simbabwes belonged to South Africa, Malawi, Botswana, Tanzania and Zambia.

Articles in category "Armaments industry in Africa"

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