The missile business of South African missile, unmanned air vehicle and space company Denel Dynamics, part of the State-owned Denel defence industrial group, is focusing a lot of its attention and investment on to the development of radar seekers and new rocket motors. These developments are the essential prerequisites to the development of longer-ranged air defence missiles.

The company currently has two longer-ranged missile projects. These are the Umkhonto-LR medium-ranged naval surface-to-air missile (SAM) and the Marlin beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile.

The Umkhonto-LR would be a development of the current Umkhonto-IR infrared homing naval SAM, which is in service with the South African and Finnish navies and has been ordered by a North African navy. The current missile is classified as a short-ranged air defence (Shorad) missile.

However, the Umkhonto-LR will not be the next development of the weapon. That will be the Umkhonto-EIR, which will also be infrared homing and will be an extended-range Shorad system. Later, however, the Umkhonto-EIR could be fitted with the same radar seeker as the planned Umkhonto-LR. Technology demonstration funding for the Umkhonto-EIR is being provided by the South African Department of Defence (DoD) through acquisition agency Armscor.

The Marlin is also in the technology demonstrator phase, again funded by the DoD through Armscor. This phase should last about three years.

Further development of both the Umkhonto-LR and Marlin projects, to full-scale production, is likely to require the participation of a foreign partner. This was and is the case with Denel Dynamics' other current missile project, the A-Darter, which is now close to entering production. This has been developed as a joint project with Brazil and will see service with both the South African and Brazilian air forces.