Johannesburg - Armscor will oppose a claim of about R100m by the government of Congo Brazzaville for the non-delivery of Puma helicopters.

Armscor alleges that it had never entered into a transaction with this government. Documentation about the claim has been submitted at the Pretoria High Court.

Armscor says it sold the 28 helicopters on tender in 1996 to a company registered in England.

This transaction was concluded with the approval of the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) and the company that paid the money for the helicopters to Armscor.

The Congo Brazzaville government entered into a transaction in 1997 for the purchase of these helicopters.

Part of the R100m was paid as deposit, but the helicopters were presumably not delivered due to the limitations placed on the resale of military equipment by the NCACC. The deposit was not returned either.

The company which purchased the helicopters, has in the meantime been dissolved and some of the shareholders have sold their shares.

The Royal Air Force in England has just announced that it has purchased six Puma helicopters from South Africa with the option on a further nine of the helicopters, owned by Denel.

The subpoena by the Congo Brazzaville government was the first Armscor heard of a claim against it, said a spokesperson on Sunday. There is further confusion, as Armscor had received documentation from two different legal firms.

Armscor will submit documents stating its case as soon as the representative firm is determined.

With acknowledgements to Erika Gibson and Beeld.