Denel Aerospace Systems
Encyclopedia
Denel Dynamics, formerly Kentron, is a division of Denel
(Pty) Ltd, a South Africa
n armaments development
and manufacturing company wholly owned by the South Africa
n Government
. It underwent a name change from Kentron to Denel Aerospace Systems during the early part of 2004 and later to Denel Dynamics. Denel Dynamics is located in Centurion, South Africa
. Several sites are operating according to ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 certified.
and charged with violation of the UN arms embargo
– which outlawed the export of arms and military equipment to apartheid South Africa
.
The Coventry Four were granted bail
against a deposit of £200,000 and a guarantee by a diplomat from the South African embassy who waived his diplomatic immunity
. They were allowed to return to South Africa on condition that they appeared at their trial in England in August 1984. In the event, South African foreign minister, Pik Botha
, refused to allow them to return for their trial. Thus, the charges that Kentron personnel were involved in circumventing the UN arms embargo remain unproven.
Denel
Denel Ltd is a South African state owned aerospace and defence technology conglomerate established in 1991. It was created when the manufacturing subsidiaries of Armscor were split off in order for Armscor to become the procurement agency for South African Defence Force , now known as the South...
(Pty) Ltd, a South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n armaments development
New product development
In business and engineering, new product development is the term used to describe the complete process of bringing a new product to market. A product is a set of benefits offered for exchange and can be tangible or intangible...
and manufacturing company wholly owned by the South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n Government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
. It underwent a name change from Kentron to Denel Aerospace Systems during the early part of 2004 and later to Denel Dynamics. Denel Dynamics is located in Centurion, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Several sites are operating according to ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 certified.
Key products
| Category | Type | Name |
|---|---|---|
| Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) | ||
| Seeker - tactical reconnaissance | ||
| Bateleur - MALE reconnaissance | ||
| Skua - target drone | ||
| Guided missiles | ||
| air-to-air Air-to-air missile An air-to-air missile is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft. AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid fuelled but sometimes liquid fuelled... |
||
| A-Darter A-Darter (missile) The A-Darter is a fifth generation short range infrared homing air-to-air missile, under development by South Africa's Denel Dynamics and Brazil's Mectron. It is expected to enter service with the South African Air Force, Brazilian Air Force and be offered for export... – short-range Infrared homing Infrared homing Infrared homing refers to a passive missile guidance system which uses the emission from a target of electromagnetic radiation in the infrared part of the spectrum to track and follow it. Missiles which use infrared seeking are often referred to as "heat-seekers", since infrared is just below the... |
||
| R-Darter R-Darter (missile) The R-Darter is an beyond visual range air-to-air missile guided by an active radar homing seeker. It was designed and manufactured by the South African firm Kentron, now known as Denel Dynamics.... – radar guided Beyond Visual Range missile Beyond Visual Range missile A beyond-visual-range missile usually refers to an air-to-air missile that is capable of engaging at ranges beyond . This range has been achieved using dual pulse rocket motors or booster rocket motor and ramjet sustainer motor.... (BVR) |
||
| surface-to-air Surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles... |
Umkhonto Umkhonto missile Umkhonto is a South African, vertical launch surface-to-air missile manufactured by Denel Dynamics available in infrared homing and radar homing version .-Umkhonto-IR Mk1:... |
|
| anti-armour | ||
| Mokopa Mokopa The Mokopa is a South African air-to-ground missile, designed primarily for use as an anti-tank weapon. It is currently in its final stages of development, and is being integrated onto the South African Air Force's Rooivalk attack helicopters. The missile is produced by Denel Dynamics, formerly... |
||
| Ingwe Ingwe (missile) The Ingwe is a modern South African multi-role laser guided anti-tank guided missile manufactured by Denel Dynamics .The missile was designed to be employed in various roles, either by infantry... |
||
| Guided bombs | ||
| Raptor precision-guided glide bomb series | ||
| Umbani GPS/INS guidance kit for Mk.82, Mk.83 and Mk.84 bomb Bomb A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy... s |
||
| Seekers | used in Brazilian MAA-1 Piranha Mectron MAA-1 Piranha The MAA-1 Piranha 1 is a short-range infrared homing missile and the first air-to-air missile developed by Brazil for its Air Force and Navy. It was designed to replace the AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles in Brazilian service and has since been exported to Colombia and Pakistan.-History:Development of an... |
|
| Weapons Management Systems | ||
| Arachnida weapons management system | ||
UN arms embargo violation
Four South Africans working for Kentron were arrested in March 1984 in CoventryCoventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
and charged with violation of the UN arms embargo
United Nations Security Council Resolution 418
United Nations Security Council Resolution 418, adopted unanimously on 4 November 1977, imposed a mandatory arms embargo against apartheid South Africa. This resolution differed from the earlier Resolution 282, which was only voluntary...
– which outlawed the export of arms and military equipment to apartheid South Africa
History of South Africa in the apartheid era
Apartheid was a system of racial segregation enforced by the National Party governments of South Africa between 1948 and 1994, under which the rights of the majority 'non-white' inhabitants of South Africa were curtailed and white supremacy and Afrikaner minority rule was maintained...
.
The Coventry Four were granted bail
Bail
Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail...
against a deposit of £200,000 and a guarantee by a diplomat from the South African embassy who waived his diplomatic immunity
Diplomatic immunity
Diplomatic immunity is a form of legal immunity and a policy held between governments that ensures that diplomats are given safe passage and are considered not susceptible to lawsuit or prosecution under the host country's laws...
. They were allowed to return to South Africa on condition that they appeared at their trial in England in August 1984. In the event, South African foreign minister, Pik Botha
Pik Botha
Roelof Frederik "Pik" Botha is a former South African politician who served as the country's foreign minister in the last years of the apartheid era...
, refused to allow them to return for their trial. Thus, the charges that Kentron personnel were involved in circumventing the UN arms embargo remain unproven.
External links
See also
- Armscor (South Africa)Armscor (South Africa)Armscor , the Armaments Corporation of South Africa is a South African government-supported weapon-producing conglomerate that was officially established in 1968, primarily as a response to the international sanctions by the United Nations against South Africa that began in 1963 and...
- Military of South Africa
- Military history of South AfricaMilitary history of South AfricaThe history of South Africa chronicles a vast time period and complex events from the dawn of history until the present time. It covers civil wars and wars of aggression and of self-defense both within South Africa and against it...
- South African Air ForceSouth African Air ForceThe South African Air Force is the air force of South Africa, with headquarters in Pretoria. It is the world's second oldest independent air force, and its motto is Per Aspera Ad Astra...
- List of aircraft of the South African Air Force
- Advena (formerly Kentron Circle)AdvenaThe South African nuclear weapons production facility, having been transferred in 1979 from the Pelindaba nuclear research center to the state-owned Armaments Corporation of South Africa , was later developed as the Kentron Circle facility...
- Operation Phenix