 | This article's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. In particular: BAE sold their 75% stake to Denel in April 2015.(June 2017) |
BAE Systems Land Systems South Africa is a South African defence company and a subsidiary of BAE Systems Land Systems, itself part of BAE Systems Land and Armaments.
Land Systems South Africa is organised into three divisions: Land Systems OMC, Land Systems Gear Ratio, and Land Systems Dynamics.
Land Systems OMC is South Africa's primary military vehicle manufacturing company. OMC is the initialism under which the Olifant Manufacturing Company was most commonly known during its existence. It was established for the task of creating the Olifant tank for the South African Army.
The South African Army is the army of South Africa, first formed after the Union of South Africa was created in 1910. The South African military evolved within the tradition of frontier warfare fought by Boer Commando (militia) forces, reinforced by the Afrikaners' historical distrust of large standing armies. It then fought as part of the wider British effort in World War II, but afterwards was cut off from its long-standing Commonwealth ties with the ascension to power of the National Party in South Africa in 1948. The army was involved in a long and bitter counter-insurgency campaign in Namibia from 1966 to 1990. It also played a key role in controlling sectarian political violence inside South Africa during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Early into its life it was taken over by Reunert, which subsequently turned it into a division called Reumech OMC. It was under this name that OMC saw its most prolific level of vehicle development, as the SA Army's involvement in the Border War in Angola created a massive need for ever more advanced and capable vehicles.
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a west-coast country of south-central Africa. It is the seventh-largest country in Africa, bordered by Namibia to the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Zambia to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Angola has an exclave province, the province of Cabinda that borders the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital and largest city of Angola is Luanda.
Following South Africa's readmittance to the international arena following democratic elections in 1994, a number of foreign defence industry companies expressed significant interest in purchasing the company. In 1999 Britain's Vickers purchased the company and renamed it Vickers OMC. This continued until Alvis plc, also of Britain, purchased Vickers' defence division, including OMC. Alvis renamed the company to Alvis OMC.
The United Kingdom, officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland but more commonly known as the UK or Britain, is a sovereign country lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of 242,500 square kilometres (93,600 sq mi), the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world. It is also the 22nd-most populous country, with an estimated 66.0 million inhabitants in 2017.
Vickers plc was the remainder of Vickers-Armstrongs after the nationalisation of three of its four operating groups: aviation, shipbuilding and steel. It was purchased by Rolls-Royce plc in 1999, and the Vickers company name became defunct in 2004.
Alvis Ltd. was created when United Scientific Holdings plc acquired the Alvis division of the nationalised vehicle manufacturer British Leyland in 1981. United Scientific maintained its own name until 1992 when the group was renamed Alvis plc. Alvis acquired Swedish armoured vehicle manufacturer Hagglunds AB in 1997 and the armoured vehicle business of GKN in 1998. Finally, it acquired Vickers Defence Systems from Rolls-Royce in October 2002. Alvis was acquired by BAE Systems in 2004 and became BAE Systems Land Systems , now part of the BAE Systems Land & Armaments operating group.
The most recent chapter in the company's history was written in 2004, when BAE Systems purchased the military vehicle division of Alvis. OMC then became part of BAE Systems' Land Systems, again undergoing a name change to Land Systems OMC.
BAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security, and aerospace company. Its headquarters are in London in the United Kingdom with operations worldwide. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe and among the world's largest defence companies; it was ranked as the third-largest based on applicable 2017 revenues. Its largest operations are in the United Kingdom and United States, where its BAE Systems Inc. subsidiary is one of the six largest suppliers to the US Department of Defense. Other major markets include Australia, India, and Saudi Arabia, which account for about 20% of BAE's overall sales. It is the biggest manufacturer in Britain. The company was formed on 30 November 1999 by the £7.7 billion merger of two British companies: Marconi Electronic Systems (MES) – the defence electronics and naval shipbuilding subsidiary of the General Electric Company plc (GEC) – and British Aerospace (BAe) – an aircraft, munitions and naval systems manufacturer.
In April 2015, it was announced the company has sold its 75% stake in LSSA, for a total of approximately 855 million Rand ($53 million), to the state-owned group Denel. [1]
The rand is the currency of South Africa. The Rand is subdivided into 100 cents. The ISO 4217 code is ZAR, from Afrikaans Zuid-Afrikaanse Rand. The Rand is legal tender in the Common Monetary Area between South Africa, Swaziland (Eswatini), Lesotho and Namibia, although the last three countries do have their own currencies pegged at par with rand.
Land Systems Gear Ratio manufacturers specialised geartrain products, primarily for military vehicles, but also for mining and earthmoving equipment, industrial machinery and traction locomotives.
On 16 April 2008 BAE Systems agreed to acquire IST Dynamics, a South African company based in Pretoria which specialises in the development of fire directing systems, remotely controlled turrets; weapon stations and related fire control sub-systems; products and fire control sub-systems-related training systems. [2]
The Casspir is a Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle that has been in use in South Africa for over 30 years. It is a four-wheeled, four-wheel drive vehicle, used for transport of troops. It can hold a crew of two, plus 12 additional soldiers and associated equipment. The Casspir was unique in design when launched, providing for passive mine defence. The main armoured steel body of the vehicle is raised high above the ground, so when a mine is detonated, the explosion is less likely to damage the crew compartment and kill the occupants. The cross-section of the hull is V-shaped (V-hull), directing the force of the explosion outwards, further protecting the occupants. The vehicle also offers crew protection from small arms fire. The capabilities of the Casspir were the basis of the outline capabilities required by the U.S. Marines' for their Mine Resistant Ambush Protected or MRAP vehicle project.
The RG-31 Nyala is a 4×4 multi-purpose mine-resistant ambush protected infantry mobility vehicle manufactured in South Africa by Land Systems OMC and in Turkey by FNSS Defence Systems. It is based on the Mamba APC of TFM Industries.
The RG-32 Scout is a family of mine-resistant 4×4 light armoured vehicles made by BAE Systems Land Systems South Africa in South Africa. It is based on the RG-31, which is already deployed worldwide with peace-keeping, security and combat forces. The combat weight of the vehicle is about 7,300 kg and it has the capacity to carry a crew of 5 to 7. The vehicle crew is protected against 5.56×45mm NATO ball ammunition, grenades, firebombs, anti-personnel mines and side blasts. The five-seat version also offers protection against anti-tank mines and side blasts. Up to two RG-32Ms can be transported in a C-130 cargo aircraft.
The Rooikat is a South African armoured reconnaissance vehicle equipped with a stabilised 76mm high velocity gun for organic anti-tank and fire support purposes. It is capable of giving the same performance and using the same ammunition as the Oto Melara 76 naval gun, albeit with new percussion primers.
Rheinmetall AG is a European defence contractor. Rheinmetall has a presence in two corporate sectors with six divisions, and is headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. In fiscal 2018, the company generated sales of €6.148 billion.
The RG-12 is a multi-purpose armoured personnel carrier with anti-personnel mine, grenade, fire bomb and small arms fire protection that is manufactured by Land Systems OMC of South Africa, with over 700 being in service globally in more than eight countries.
Land Systems OMC is a South African company that produces a range of armoured vehicles which have been successfully exported and are in service with, amongst others, the U.S., Canadian and South African militaries. It is a division of Denel SOC LTD, located in Benoni, Gauteng.
BAE Systems Land & Armaments is a wholly owned subsidiary of BAE Systems Plc. and is responsible for the design, development and production of combat vehicles, ammunition, artillery systems, naval guns and missile launchers. It is the largest such company in the world. It was created on 24 June 2005, following the completion of BAE Systems' acquisition of United Defense in 2004 and its merger with BAE Systems Land Systems. In 2007 BAE Systems acquired Armor Holdings adding to the size of Land & Armaments significantly.
The Alvis Stormer is a modern military armoured vehicle manufactured by the British company Alvis Vickers, now BAE Systems Land & Armaments. The Stormer is a development of the CVR(T) family of vehicles, essentially a larger, modernised version with an extra road-wheel on each side.
The Umkhonto is a South African family of modern short- to medium-range, all-weather-capable vertical launch (VLS) surface-to-air missiles (SAM) manufactured by South Africa's Denel Dynamics. The missile and associated subsystems are supplied as a missile group for easy integration into naval combat suites or ground-based air defence systems.
BAE Systems AB is a Swedish defence company and a subsidiary of BAE Systems Land and Armaments, whose ultimate parent is the British defence contractor BAE Systems. The company is a holding company for Land Systems Hägglunds AB and BAE Systems Bofors AB, and has no products of its own.
The ZT3 Ingwe (Leopard) is a modern South African multi-role laser beam riding anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) manufactured by Denel Dynamics.
Denel SOC Ltd is a South African state-owned aerospace and military technology conglomerate established in 1992. It was created when the manufacturing subsidiaries of Armscor were split off in order for Armscor to become the procurement agency for South African Defence Force (SADF), now known as the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), and the manufacturing divisions were grouped together under Denel as divisions.
The RCV-9 is an armoured personnel carrier intended for riot control purposes and manufactured by Land Systems OMC of South Africa.
Royal Ordnance plc was formed on 2 January 1985 as a public corporation, owning the majority of what until then were the remaining United Kingdom government-owned Royal Ordnance Factories which manufactured explosives, ammunition, small arms including the Lee–Enfield rifle, guns and military vehicles such as tanks. It owned some 16 factories; and employed about 19,000 staff.
The Umbani is a precision-guided bomb kit manufactured by Denel Dynamics in South Africa. It consists of a number of modules fitted to NATO standard Mk81, Mk82 or Mk83 low drag free-fall bombs to convert them into guided glide bombs.
The Denel Dynamics Skua is a turbojet-engined target drone used to simulate fast-moving attack aircraft during surface-to-air and air-to-air training exercises and weapons tests. It is manufactured by the Denel Dynamics division of the South African state-owned Denel aerospace and defence conglomerate.
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