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Defence & Aerospace

SA affected by UK decision to end an airliner programme

By: Keith Campbell 7th December 2001 THE decision by BAE Systems to end production of its Avro RJ and RJX regional jetliners means that Denel Aviation’s contract to manufacture aerostructures for these aircraft is being terminated. →

Navy corvette project making rapid progress

By: Keith Campbell 7th December 2001 THE process of re-equipping the South African Navy (SAN) with new patrol corvettes and submarines is now so far advanced that cancelling the project is no longer a fiscally responsible option. →

SA electrical group in R105m R&D drive

By: Terence Creamer 30th November 2001 Electronics and electrical engineering company, Reunert, will spend a significant R105-million on research and development (R&D) projects during the next financial year. →

Air-droppable vehicle takes to the sky

30th November 2001 THE defence technology division of CSIR in Pretoria has completed the prototype of a 4x4 lightweight air-droppable rapid-reaction vehicle for South Africa’s defence procurement agency, Armscor. →

SA aeronautics firm wins big global order

29th November 2001 Aircraft manufacturer Boeing has announced the signing of a deal with aeronautics company Aerosud to make aircraft parts in South Africa, the latest in a series of moves to make its business more global. →

R12,5m maritime plant opens

By: Jill Stanford 16th November 2001 A new maritime facility has been opened by Avitronics – jointly owned by Grintek and Saab, of Sweden – at Capricorn Park, in Muizenberg, Western Cape. →

S African–Swedish partnership formed

2nd November 2001 South African electronics and communications group Grintek and Sweden’s Saab have teamed up to compete in world markets in the high-tech communications and data network defence sectors. →

SA lift for Concorde relaunch

2nd November 2001 When Concorde took to the skies again on last month, she had considerably more fuel-efficient, thanks to a South African company. →

R70bn procurement offset promise

By: Martin Zhuwakinyu 26th October 2001 The South African economy stands to reap more than R70-billion over the next 11 years from industrial participation projects linked to the arms-purchase programme, Trade and Industry Minister Alec Erwin said last week. →

Airline introduces 'big brother' security

19th October 2001 Local airline South African Airways (SAA) is expected to save at least R7-million over the next three years in repudiated claims as a result of its newly-installed security management system. →

Homegrown maritime antenna tech

By: Irma Venter 19th October 2001 South Africa is committing yet another homegrown innovation to the export market. →

Transnet 'end state' document awaited

By: Keith Campbell 19th October 2001 IT is highly unlikely that any significant announcement on the restructuring of Transnet will be made before the end of the year. →

Airports firm to spread African wings

By: Irma Venter 12th October 2001 Airport development is a major thrust of South Africa‘s airports company, and one of the main challenges that new Airports Company of South Africa (Acsa) CEO Monhla Hlahla will face when she takes up her new position on November 1. →

'Top brass' offset deal

By: Laura Franz 12th October 2001 Ammunition manufacturer Pretoria Metal Pressings (PMP), a division of State-owned arms manufacturer Denel Ordnance, will be exporting about 30% of its yearly brass plant output in the form of brass cups and discs to Royal Ordnance Defence (RO Defence), a UK-based unit of BAE Systems, in terms of... →

SA to win from Hungarian fighter choice

By: Keith Campbell 5th October 2001 The decision by Hungary to adopt the Saab Gripen as its new fighter aircraft will benefit the South African avionics industry. →

Wales wants SA ties in reinventing economy

By: Keith Campbell 5th October 2001 WALES is seeking joint venture (JV) opportunities with South Africa in both the high and medium technology fields. →

R55m defence logistics contract awarded

5th October 2001 Local logistical-support company Reutech Defence Logistics (RDL), of Woodmead, Gauteng, was awarded contracts, worth some R55-million, by Armscor this month to provide full logistical support to the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). →

Transport aircraft alliance for Denel

By: Keith Campbell 28th September 2001 Denel Aviation has entered into exploratory contracts with European aerospace companies PZL-Mielec and Alenia, to examine the possibilities for transport aircraft in Africa. →

Power solution division in sales surge

21st September 2001 Electronics firm Grintek Power Technologies has grown sales of its direct-current (dc) power solutions to the telecommunications industry from R23-million last year to R67-million this year. →

SA firm wins from defence offset deals

21st September 2001 Local communications and defence electronics company Tellumat has won several multimillion-rand contracts for the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) strategic package acquisitions. →

Heavyweight toggle controllers

7th September 2001 Market leading infrared and radio remote control systems manufacturer Cattron-Theimeg, has designed its toggle controller specifically for heavyweight applications. →

UK, SA defence technology deal

By: Keith Campbell 7th September 2001 BRITAIN and South Africa are to co-operate in the commercialisation of defence technology, with a formal agreement to be signed on September 11. →

Tellumat

24th August 2001 Tellumat develops technologies in niche areas of the telecommunications and electronics industry, such as private switching communications systems, microwave radio equipment and avionics products and systems. →

Exports vital for SA defence sector’s survival

23rd August 2001 The South African defence budget will remain limited and insufficient to sustain a fully-fledged defence industry, warns Defence Deputy-Minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, speaking at the African Defence 2001 Summit Conference in Sandton. →

Aerospace IP programme getting under way

By: Keith Campbell 21st August 2001 Boeing yesterday announced that it had formed a strategic partnership with the DTI and was in talks with the SA aviation company Aerosud concerning the manufacture of aircraft parts. →

Local flight-monitors for new Hawks

By: Laura Franz 17th August 2001 South African avionics company Aerospace Monitoring and Systems (AMS), founded in the mid-1980s by a group of systems engineers from the local defence industry, has been awarded a R26-million rand contract to supply its health and usage monitoring system (HUMS) and crash survival recorders to... →

Air-force was right to go for Pilatus

By: Keith Campbell 17th August 2001 The 60 Pilatus PC-7 Mark 2 turboprop training aircraft acquired by the SAAF in the mid-1990s were undoubtedly the most suitable aircraft available to the service in the required time frame. →

Shipbuilders quantify offset promises

7th August 2001 The consortium building the four corvettes for the South African Navy as part of the South African National Defence Force’s (SANDF) re-equipping programme has revealed that it is obliged to fulfil defence industry participation (Dip) and national industry participation (Nip) offsets,... →

Helicopter hopes for township youth

By: Irma Venter 3rd August 2001 Muzi Vilakazi was 14 when then president Nelson Mandela visited his Mpumalanga school – changing the course of his life forever. →

UK aero firm shoots down Denel speculation

By: Keith Campbell 31st July 2001 Aerospace firm BAE Systems has flatly denied a report in yesterday’s Financial Times that it is to pay R500-million for a minority share in South Africa’s state-owned defence group Denel. →

We calculate new fighter aircraft at $64m apiece

By: Keith Campbell 27th July 2001 Article looks at costs of advanced fighters and finds that cost to South Africa of 28 Gripens is not out of line with costs of other fighters being offered to other countries →

Periscope contract a big win for SA

By: Keith Campbell 13th July 2001 Eloptro, of the Denel group, signs R45-million DIP contract with Zeiss Optronik of Germany for periscopes for SA Navy and two foreign navies. Also, Eloptro laser rangefinders selling well. →

SA's civil aviation sector flies into stormy weather

By: Keith Campbell 6th July 2001 The South African civil aviation industry is being severely buffeted by forces beyond its control, such as fuel prices and exchange rates, as well as factors which are changeable, like regulations and policy. →

Arms deal poker game

6th July 2001 What the challenge now really comes down to is: can we implement the agreed arms deal contracts in such a way that we reap maximum benefit over the next couple of decades? →

Old telescope gets

By: Irma Venter 29th June 2001 The 110-year-old Boyden telescope, in the Free State, will map the stars with new vigour once a R1,7-million project involving the upgrading of the telescope, and collaborative research and educational programmes between the University of the Free State, and three US institutions is completed. →

One-horse fighter race could benefit SA

By: Keith Campbell 29th June 2001 South Africa is set to benefit from the Czech Republic's $2,6-billion supersonic fighter acquisition programme, should Prague decide to go ahead with the project, Engineering News can report. →

Submarine project continues despite probe

By: Deborah Spicer 29th June 2001 The project work on the three class 209 type 1400 SAN submarines for the South African Navy that form part of the defence deal package is proceeding on a routine basis, reports representative of the German submarine consortium Captain Siegfried Netzband. →