South African armoured mine-pro- tected-vehicle manufacturer DCD Protected Mobility (part of the DCD Group) believes that opportunities still exist in international markets. “There are opportunities. They are relatively small – large orders will be few and far between,” states DCD Protected Mobility GM Andrew Mears. “But there is sufficient business to keep you going, providing you work with the customer.”

The company is best known for its unique and highly successful Husky armoured mine-detection and clearance vehicle and associa- ted trailers. (A full system comprises two Huskies and a set of mine detonator trailers.) This year alone, the two-crew-member version of the Husky has been ordered by Spain and Turkey. The system is already in service with South Africa, Australia, Canada, France, Kenya, Uganda and the US (both army and marines). The UK also acquired Husky systems and subsequently donated them to the Halo Trust. (Confusingly, the British Army has now given the name Husky to a completely unrelated tactical support vehicle it operates.) The US is by far the biggest user of the anti-mine vehicle, with 607 complete Husky systems, plus three two-crew Huskies ordered so far.

“We could probably sell as many Huskies as we have sold to the US, but whereas that took five years, it would probably take from 10 to 15 years to sell that number again,” he opines. “It’s a niche product. So there’s obviously not a lot of competition for it.”

The same is not true of the company’s other products, the Springbuck and the Mountain Lion. The Mountain Lion is an all-new mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicle, while the design of the Springbuck armoured personnel carrier was acquired from Drakensberg Truck Manufacturers last year. DCD Protected Mobility has since been improving the Springbuck design, and has already won an order for it from the Nigerian police.

“There’s a lot more competition for the Mountain Lion, and the Springbuck, in particular,” says Mears. “But here it has got to do with price and with how you work with the customer. Localisation is a key issue.” Should, for example, the Nigerians order enough Springbucks, an assembly line and maintenance facility would be set up in the country.

“With the Mountain Lion, we’ve been talking with a couple of potential customers. Hopefully, we’ll get a launch customer within the next 12 to 18 months. Once it’s in service, we expect good market reaction, once people can see what it can do,” he reports.

“The potential market for the Springbuck is much greater, because it’s more afford- able,” he explains. “And we’re working to get the costs down further. Our strategy with the Springbuck is definitely the price, given its capability. It has a monocoque hull – no chassis – but we aim to make it as affordable as a truck chassis with an armoured body mounted on it.” (An armoured monocoque hull provides much greater protection than a similar armoured body mounted on a conventional chassis.)

DCD Protected Mobility recently formally opened its new factory in Isando, Kempton Park, east of Johannesburg. The establishment of this new facility was the result of a 2011 decision by the DCD Group board to split its rolling stock and defence business into two entities, each focused on its particular speciality, thereby stimulating the growth and development of both.

“We [now] have everything in place to support the local market and the defence industry – a state-of-the-art factory, skilled personnel, established processes for design, manufacturing, quality assurance and configuration management and key strategic alliances in place,” enthused Mears.

Speaking at that event, Mears argued for greater cooperation within the local defence industry and between the industry and government. “Owing to the global economic downturn and increasing com- petition, challenges lie ahead. We need to revive ‘Brand SA’. Not a single company is going to achieve this on its own. We’re going to have to work together. This is likely to result in some sort of consolidation in the local industry.”

Also present was DCD Group MD Rob King, who echoed Mears’ comments, noting that skills development was one area in which there needed to be greater coope- ration within the local defence industry. “[DCD has] invested over R23-million a year on skills. It is showing results.”