State-owned company the Armaments Corporation of South Africa (Armscor) is an acquisition agency for the South African Department of Defence (DOD) and other organs of state and entities.

Armscor’s mandate is to provide the armed forces with state-of-the-art defence material, delivering innovative defence solutions efficiently and effectively. The organisation, under the leadership of Advocate Solomzi Mbada, manages the strategic capabilities of the DOD, producing research and vanguard technological solutions required to provide safety and security for South Africa, its citizens and the continent.

Armscor prides itself on maintaining high-quality international standards through rigorous testing and evaluation processes on all its technology management projects. Over the years, Armscor has seen its technologies evolving from the defence sector to both commercial and domestic sectors. It has the capabilities and skills to meet the needs of a changing global landscape.

Acquisition ExpertiseOne of Armscor’s core businesses is acquisition. Its key functions include requirements analysis, technology development, design and development of products and systems, the industrialisation and manufacturing of mature products, and product systems that fully meet user requirements. It also entails the procurement of existing and qualified products, as well as the acquisition of product system support for user systems during the operational lifetime of the systems. The organisation has the capability to perform independent, centralised coordination of the acquisition function, and plays a management role in technology acquisition and technology commercialization undertakings.

Through its Aero Systems Division, Armscor plays a key role in providing the South African Air Force with the necessary equipment and support required for mission readiness, which includes, but is not limited to, conducting humanitarian operations in countries such as Mozambique. Armscor provides cost-effective and safe provision of aircraft product systems and logistic support that creates defence capability.

Aero systems capabilities offered at Armscor:

• Contract and project management expertise
• Providing maintenance and storage management
• Holistic overview of the life cycle of equipment
• Technical expertise (systems and logistics