Major German defence group Rheinmetall AG has announced that it has won a contract to modernise the South African Army’s (SA Army’s) air defence artillery systems. The value of the contract has not been revealed. Rheinmetall AG, through its Rheinmetall Waffe Munition subsidiary, owns 51% of South African company Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM).

The SA Army currently operates twin 35 mm air defence guns acquired from Rheinmetall ancestor company Oerlikon. Reportedly, the army acquired 169 of these guns, along with 75 Superfledermaus fire control units (FCUs) in 1963. In 1990, 48 of these Mark (Mk) I guns were upgraded to Mk V status and the Superfledermaus FCUs replaced by Italian LPD20 radars.

The modernisation contract, which the company’s announcement indicates was signed in the second half of March, includes the provision of Skyshield FCUs and the refitting of a number of the existing twin 35 mm guns so that they will be able to use Rheinmetall’s latest generation Ahead ammunition, giving them Mk VII status.

Each Ahead shell is composed of 152 tungsten spin-stabilised subprojectiles, which, when released, form a cone-shaped metal cloud, placed so that the target, whether aircraft, missile or bomb, flies into it and is destroyed. Each shell knows when to detonate because its electronic timer is programmed, as it leaves the barrel, by an electromagnetic inductor in the gun muzzle. These inductors are fitted to the Mk VII guns.

The Skyshield FCUs will “substantially improve the performance and accuracy of South Africa’s current twin-gun systems as well as significantly expanding the operational spectrum of its air defence capabilities”, stated the company. “The new Skyshield technology will enable the South African armed forces to protect sensitive installations such as the House of Parliament, power plants, stadiums and other critical military and civilian assets from a wide array of aerial threats, including asymmetric terrorist-type attacks. Because Skyshield air defence systems can be transported without much effort, they can basically be deployed anywhere depending on the evolving threat situation.”

The modernisation of the SA Army’s twin 35 mm gun air defence artillery falls under a programme designated as Gbads Phase II. Gbads stands for ground based air defence system. No details of any offsets or of any involvement by RDM in the programme have yet been released.

During the 2013 South African Joint Air Defence Symposium, held in Pretoria in September, Rheinmetall marketing VP Fabian Ochsner gave a presentation on the Mk VII gun, the Ahead ammunition and the Skyguard FCU. “Acquiring components of a proven system saves time and money and de-risks the project,” he pointed out. All that was required to complete the system was a command post (CP).

The FCU and the Ahead ammunition would have to be supplied by Rheinmetall, and the Swiss company would have to be involved in upgrading South Africa’s current Mk V mounts to Mk VII status, owing to the need to fit the inductors and related technologies. There is, however, still the CP. “In the CP, the are only two elements of OEM [original-equipment manufacturer] design,” he reported. “All the rest could be local design. It could be an indigenous CP. You only need to integrate the operations panels for the Skyshield FCU. You could integrate South African systems, including Link ZA [the locally-developed South African military datalink]. The CP would be [almost] completely local.”

“To develop and field indigenous systems and interfaces supports the programme with minimum risks,” he continued. “The involvement of trusted local partners optimises the programme and creates meaningful Dip [defence industrial participation].”