Armscor is to reveal a new capability at the Africa Aerospace and Defence 2000 exhibition in Pretoria this week. The arms procurement agency has revealed that Aerosud, Denel Aviation, Marvol and ATE have successfully upgraded the supersonic F1 Mirage and Cheetah E fighters to accept Russian missiles.

Eventually between 30 and 40 of the aircraft could be offered for sale to South American and Middle Eastern countries that operate similar but less sophisticated aircraft with such modifications. The F1 has already been phased out of SAAF service and the Cheetah will be retired with the arrival of the Gripen.

The Sunday Times also reports that Armscor has established a joint venture, potentially worth millions of dollars, with PromExport, one of Russia's two main military export agencies. This will allow Armscor to market weaponry to African countries which operate Russian equipment.

Earlier this month both Armscor chairman, Ron Haywood and its CEO, Sipho Thomo, told DSD they were keen to become the procurement agency of choice for the Southern African Development Community, in addition to serving the South African security community (the SANDF, SA Police Service and the Correctional department.)

The PromExport deal should be a stepping stone in that direction and may at last refocus Armscor's attention away from markets in the Middle East and South Asia. These are potentially lucrative, but efforts to turn "potential" into "actual" have not been very successful. In its position as an African marketer, selling equipment proven to work on this Continent, Armscor will have a clear edge over competitors. It is also likely that Russian equipment will first be customised locally before being delivered to African clients.

Ken Jones, Armscor's general manager of marketing, sales and industrial participation, said this week the French-powered Mirages and Cheetahs have also been re-engined with more powerful Russian power-plants. Said Jones: "We are not selling just the aircraft, but a package that includes ongoing maintenance and upgrades to suit customer needs. Our prime thrust is that we have the expertise and want to expand our business into South America and Africa. In Africa we want Denel to be the service base for air forces using Russian equipment." He said that Armscor, in conjunction with various SA manufacturers, would ensure a ready supply of spares and equipment to customers - a feature that was not always available in the past.

With acknowledgements to Leon Engelbrecht and Defence Systems Daily.