South Africa’s State-owned defence industrial group, Denel, recently delivered the hundredth turret it has produced under an export contract from Malaysia. The turrets are being fitted to the Malaysian Army’s new AV8 armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs). The contract, worth €342-million, is Denel’s biggest-ever export order.

“We are extremely proud of what we have achieved in Malaysia,” affirmed Denel Landward CEO Mxolisi Makhatini. “Despite Denel’s constrained liquidity position and the significant changes that the organisation is undergoing, we have managed to stay focused and deliver the hundredth out [of] 122 to our client as per specification and schedule and to execute almost 98% of our offset obligation to date.

“This is a historic and significant achievement, which again demonstrates our leadership role in landward defence and Denel’s capacity to produce advanced technology systems for both the local and international markets,” he stated. “Denel has contributed to technology transfer, capability and vendor development, as well as skills transfer, to ensure that it is able to meet its contractual obligations.”

The total Malaysian requirement is for a total of 177 turrets and remotely operated weapon stations (ROWS). This is composed of 69 armoured infantry fighting vehicle turrets, armed with Denel’s GI30 30 mm cannon, as well as a machine gun, 54 antitank missile turrets, armed with the GI30 cannon and Denel Dynamics Ingwe antitank missiles, and 54 ROWS. (The deal includes the supply of 216 Ingwes.)

The production of the turrets has benefited many South African small and medium-sized companies from which Denel bought products and services worth millions of rands. Components from about 13 original-equipment manufacturers are integrated into the turrets. That the result was “seamless functionality” was, stated the group, the result of “solid project management” and “sound governance” that were in accord with global best practice.

The group affirmed that the direct benefits of the programme for the country’s wider defence industry, at a time when the local economy was doing poorly, illustrated both Denel’s value to the country’s manufacturing sector and its status as a national asset. Denel helped create local manufacturing jobs and generate export revenues.

For Denel itself, the Malaysian contract represented a breakthrough, he observed. The different turret versions were developed in South Africa to meet the needs of the Malaysian Army, which operate in tropical and jungle environments. Further, the turrets were assembled in Malaysia, using components manufactured in, and intellectual property developed by, South Africa. “Throughout the delivery process, we have been able to uphold the high standards, product quality and professionalism that Denel is renowned for,” assured Makhatini.

Moreover, Denel’s success with the Malaysian programme would, he said, raise its profile in defence markets in the Asia-Pacific in particular, but also, more generally, around the world. It would increase the group’s ability to win other landward defence systems orders.

The turrets were originally developed to be fitted to the South African Army’s new Badger infantry fighting vehicle. The GI30 cannon, also sometimes referred to as the CamGun, was developed for use in AFVs. It is an externally powered, electromechanical system, with two ammunition feeds, enabling the gunner to switch between general ammunition and specialist ammunition as required.

The Ingwe antitank missile can be employed by infantry, mounted on armoured vehicles or carried by helicopters. It reportedly has a minimum range of 250 m and a maximum range of 5 000 m. It is laser-guided, fitted with a tandem warhead, and can penetrate up to 1 000 mm of rolled homogenous armour (under a single layer of reactive armour).

Malaysia’s AV8, which has been assigned the name Gempita (‘Thunder’), is a family of 8  8 AFVs, developed from the Turkish FNSS Pars AFV. It is being produced by Malaysian company DefTech.