Armscor

Until the 1970s, South Africa's apartheid government had placed a disproportionate emphasis on civilian law enforcement and the maintenance of internal security. However, a Cuban intervention in Angola, and the escalation of the South African Border War convinced the government that it faced a serious external threat. In 1978, the premiership was accepted by PW Botha, a former South African security chief, and defence expenditure spiraled upwards. Armscor, then a relatively new entity, was charged with modernising the arsenal of the South African Defence Force (SADF). This was a difficult task, as a United Nations arms embargo on South Africa, promulgated in 1964, became mandatory in 1977. Some of the SADF's preexisting hardware was trying to maintain, and any national defence establishment would encounter hurdles in keeping these systems operational without access to foreign technical support as well as new deliveries of parts and equipment.

Armscor pursued both covert arms deals and black market purchases in an effort to acquire restricted defence technologies as rapidly as possible. The experience of the embargo encouraged South African efforts in diversifying suppliers while assuming indigenous production of some paraphernalia. Availability of Western-style equipment and spares from Israel in particular helped compensate for the military effects of the UN embargo. Armscor officials used aggressive covert techniques to acquire technology, bartering through other public sector enterprises, front companies, foreign agents, and even civil organisations.

South Africa had already maintained a small arms producing capacity during World War II, and unlike most African states it possessed exceptionally competent scientists and engineers adept at substituting local manufacture for imports. Generally Armscor proceeded by studying specimens of foreign equipment, sometimes through one of its third parties, then applying these skills to their improvement. By the 1990s it had become highly specialized extending the life of obsolete weapons systems. Thus, Armscor's Olifant Mk1As were rebuilt from elderly British Centurion tanks purchased from India and Jordan. Its Atlas Cheetah interceptors were based on Mirage III airframes and inspired by the IAI Kfir. Armscor also developed the Eland Mk7, a larger and more sophisticated variant of the Panhard AML armoured car.

Expansion

Armscor oversaw a vast military, industrial and technological empire that consumed tens of billions of dollars. It was able to draw on both civilian and military resources, and had both legitimate and clandestine networks as a means of obtaining defence technology. Armscor's powers included the authority to integrate military and civilian industrial projects: this allowed for an ambitious dual-use production effort. According to a 1970 report, small arms and ammunition were being produced not only at defence ordnance facilities, but also at the South African mint and the African Explosive and Chemical Industries plant, which had previously confined its market to civil mining operations.

Embargo and diversification

South Africa began acquiring large quantities of NATO arms in 1960, after the Sharpeville Massacre prompted the African National Congress to abandon its traditional non-violent tactics in favour of armed struggle. The government was initially dependent on its largest trade partner, the United Kingdom for arms, spares, and munitions; however, this preference was disrupted by British revulsion at South Africa's domestic and foreign policy. Although British legislation restricting the transmission of certain types of technical armaments to South Africa barely affected the SADF's defence posture, it spurred diversification efforts, as the regime purchased arms from France, West Germany, Italy, Jordan, and Switzerland during the 1964-1977 period. In 1964 a Belgian licence was obtained for South African manufacture of the FN FAL battle rifle; a year later, a modified version of this weapon and its ammunition was being manufactured in Pretoria's assembly plants. Similarly, Italy granted a licence for production of an advanced trainer, the Aermacchi MB-326. Armscor also purchased systems abroad which were designed to SADF specifications. The most prominent of these were the Mirage III series of fighter aircraft, which were modified in France for South African requirements. Armscor's predecessor, the Munitions Board, had also imported the AML-60 and AML-90 armoured scout cars from France. The vehicles saw action against Cuban T-34-85 tanks in Angola during Operation Savannah, and the Mirage III and F1 interceptors became the mainstay of the South African Air Force (SAAF).

Although the French supplied relatively modern and advanced weaponry to South Africa, they imposed some restraint on deployment and training. During the Angolan War of Independence, Portugal's request for a loan of SA.316 helicopters and Panhard armoured cars from South Africa to supplement their own limited resources had to be routed through the French Minister of Armies, Pierre Messmer. The Portuguese contacted Messmer and achieved his written blessing on the condition that the loan was kept secret. Only then could South Africa agree. However, it became increasingly difficult for suppliers to exert control over indigenous weapons produced under licence.

Flight 295

On November 27-28 1987, a South African Airways Boeing 747-244BM Combi operating as Flight 295 was flying from Taipei, Taiwan to Johannesburg, South Africa with a stopover in Mauritius carrying 140 passengers, 14 flight attendants, 3 pilots, and 2 flight engineers along with 6 pallets of cargo in the rear when an in-flight fire lead to the aircraft’s tail breaking off, which lead to the aircraft’s demise. Many accuse Armscor and the Apartheid regime of using South African Airways flights to smuggle arms, and many also believe that arms smuggled on this flight (many claim rocket fuel or nuclear weapon components) caught fire. A notable aspect of this theory is the fact that South African Airways allegedly confirmed Armscor used their Combi and Freighter planes to smuggle arms. The official cause is an in-flight fire of unknown origin.

Atlas Aircraft Corporation

Once established, Armscor absorbed the Atlas Aircraft Corporation. The Atlas Aircraft Corporation of South Africa (also known as Atlas Aviation) was established in 1965 to manufacture sophisticated military aircraft and avionics equipment for the South African Air Force, as well as for export. It was also established primarily to circumvent an international arms embargo implemented in 1963.