Washington - The United States is considering purchasing South African weaponry - meaning millions of dollars in foreign exchange for South Africa - as it is probably better than its own and could increase the "deadliness" of American forces.

The Pentagon has announced that the US army will next year test several types of heavy artillery manufactured by Denel-Naschem.

The US navy and its marine corps will also test a highly advanced "corona camera" manufactured by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

By purchasing "world-class foreign products" from friendly countries or allies, America does not only save in development costs but can also equip its soldiers faster, the department of defence said with the introduction of its Foreign Comparative Testing Programme for 2003.

Every year the units of the US defence force submit to the Pentagon a list of foreign equipment in which they are interested and want tested. This year these three South African products were among the 27 new projects approved for testing.

'Viable purchase policy'

The US army will evaluate Denel-Naschem's conventional 105mm field artillery ammunition as it can probably be fired more efficiently and over longer distances than its American counterpart.

The army said in its motivation to the Pentagon that should the project be successful, it would considerably increase the "deadliness" of its light forces.

Various types of 155mm ammunition manufactured by Denel-Naschem will also be tested to evaluate their greater striking distance compared to what the US currently uses. The US army expects that the South African ammunition would lend greater fire support to its ground forces.

The US navy is interested in the CSIR's corona camera as it would assist in preventing unforeseen communication breakdowns in submarines.

The CSIR started exporting the camera, which is used to monitor high voltage equipment, on a commercial basis 5 years ago. The cameras cost between $10 000 and $60 000 each.

Should the products test successfully, the Pentagon reportedly has a "viable purchase policy" in place.

With acknowledgements to Pierre Steyn and Beeld.