Land Systems OMC is a South African company that produces a range of armoured vehicles which have been successfully exported and are in service with, amongst others, the U.S., Canadian and South African militaries. It is a division of Denel SOC LTD, located in

Benoni, Gauteng Benoni is a town in Ekurhuleni municipality, Gauteng, South Africa. Benoni was also the setting for the MTV-inspired movie ''Crazy Monkey: Straight Outta Benoni'', released internationally in 2005. People from Benoni *Urzila Carlson, New Zeal ...

. The OMC segment of the name is the initialism under which the Olifant Manufacturing Co. of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

was most commonly known during its existence. The original company was established specifically for the task of creating the

Olifant tank The Centurion was the primary British Army main battle tank of the post-World War II period. Introduced in 1945, it is widely considered to be one of the most successful post-war tank designs, remaining in production into the 1960s, and seeing ...

for the South African Army.

Ownership

Reunert

OMC's existence as an independent company was short-lived however, and early into its life it was taken over by Reunert, which subsequently turned it into a division called Reumech OMC. It was under this name that OMC saw its most prolific level of vehicle development, as combat operations during the Angolan Bush War necessitated a greater need for vehicle systems capable of being integrated with the very swift, flexible, operational style of the

South African Defence Force The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence F ...

. In 1997, Reunert inherited TFM Industries and its respective designs. Vehicles manufactured by the company during this period include the Rooikat and Eland

armoured cars Armored (or armoured) car or vehicle may refer to: Wheeled armored vehicles * Armoured fighting vehicle, any armed combat vehicle protected by armor ** Armored car (military), a military wheeled armored vehicle * Armored car (valuables), an arm ...

and the 6x6 chassis used by the

G6 howitzer The G6, sometimes denoted as the G6 ''Rhino'', is a South African mine-protected self-propelled howitzer. It was developed as a turreted, self-propelled variant of the G5 howitzer series, mating the gun to a six-wheeled armoured chassis. Des ...

, in addition to South Africa's highly successful

Okapi The okapi (; ''Okapia johnstoni''), also known as the forest giraffe, Congolese giraffe, or zebra giraffe, is an artiodactyl mammal that is endemic to the northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa. It is the only species ...

Mamba Mambas are fast moving highly venomous snakes of the genus ''Dendroaspis'' (which literally means "tree asp") in the family Elapidae. Four extant species are recognised currently; three of those four species are essentially arboreal and green ...

, and

Casspir The Casspir is a Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle that has been in use in South Africa since the 1980s. It is a four-wheeled, four-wheel drive vehicle, used for transport of troops. It can hold a crew of two, plus 12 additional soldiers an ...

MRAP Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP; ) is a term for United States Armed Forces, United States military light tactical vehicles produced as part of the MRAP program that are designed specifically to withstand improvised explosive device (IE ...

armoured personnel carriers.

Vickers

Following South Africa's re admittance to the international arena following democratic elections in 1994, a number of foreign defence industry companies expressed significant interest in purchasing the company. Eventually it was

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

Vickers plc Vickers plc was the remainder of Vickers-Armstrongs after the nationalisation of three of its four operating groups: aviation (as a 50% share since 1960 of British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) in 1977), shipbuilding ( Vickers Limited Shipbuilding ...

that won, purchasing the company and renaming it Vickers OMC.

Alvis

This continued until Alvis, also of Britain, purchased Vickers' defence division, including OMC. Continuing with tradition, Alvis renamed the company to Alvis OMC.

BAE Systems

In 2004, BAE Systems purchased the military vehicle division of Alvis. OMC then became part of BAE Systems' Land Systems, again undergoing a name change to Land Systems OMC and later to BAE Systems Land Systems South Africa.

Denel SOC LTD

In April 2015, state-owned defence conglomerate

Denel Denel SOC Ltd is a South African state-owned aerospace and military technology conglomerate established in 1992. It was created when the manufacturing subsidiaries of Armscor were split off in order for Armscor to become the procurement agency ...

completed the acquisition of Land Systems South Africa (LSSA) from BAE Systems and DGD Technologies. Denel took over BAE's 75% stake for R641 million ($53 million). Full ownership cost Denel R855 million as the purchase included DGD Technologies' 25% share.

Vehicles

Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC)

OMC vehicles were developed for and successfully deployed in

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

and

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

during the

South African Border War The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, and sometimes denoted in South Africa as the Angolan Bush War, was a largely asymmetric conflict that occurred in Namibia (then South West Africa), Zambia, and Ango ...

. This harsh environment demanded good mobility as well as protection against anti-tank mines. The

APC pioneered technology such as specially welded and shaped hulls to provide protection against mines. OMC's modern armoured personnel carriers are popular with most international peace keeping forces, because of the level of mine-protection offered as well as the ease of maintenance and manoeuvrability of wheeled APCs. Countries and organizations using these vehicles include

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, Sweden and

Blackwater Security Blackwater was an American private military company founded on December 26, 1996 by former Navy SEAL officer Erik Prince. It was renamed Xe Services in 2009 and known as Academi since 2011 after it was acquired by a group of private investors. ...

amongst others. *

, 4x4 wheeled APC, first version introduced in the 1980s. *

, 4x4 wheeled APC, crew of 12. * RG-12, aimed at riot control, 4 wheel drive, crew of 12. *

RG-31 Nyala The RG-31 Nyala is a 4×4 multi-purpose mine-resistant ambush protected infantry mobility vehicle manufactured in South Africa by Land Systems OMC (the division of Denel SOC LTD, located in Benoni, South Africa) and in Turkey by FNSS Defence S ...

, 4x4 wheeled APC, crew of 10 (driver + nine). *

RG-32 Scout The RG-32 Scout is a family of mine-resistant 4×4 light armoured vehicles made by BAE Systems Land Systems South Africa (formerly Land Systems OMC) in South Africa. It is based on the RG-31, which is already deployed worldwide with peace-keeping, ...

, 4x4 wheeled APC, crew of 5. *

RG Outrider The RG Outrider, also known by its original designation RG-32M Light Tactical Vehicle (LTV), is a 4x4 multi-purpose mine-protected armoured personnel carrier (APC) manufactured by BAE Systems of South Africa. It was first introduced in early 200 ...

, 4x4 wheeled APC, crew of 4. * RG-33, 4x4 or 6x6 wheeled APC. * Pinzgauer 4x4 and 6x6 all terrain vehicles * iKlwa, modernised version of the

Ratel The honey badger (''Mellivora capensis''), also known as the ratel ( or ), is a mammal widely distributed in Africa, Southwest Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Because of its wide range and occurrence in a variety of habitats, it is listed a ...

infantry fighting vehicle.

Rapid deployment vehicle

* Wasp rapid deployment vehicle, air deployable light 4x4 vehicle for airborne and special forces.

Armoured fighting vehicle (AFV)

* Rooikat, 8 wheeled AFV armed with a 76 mm gun (In service with the SA Army) a version with a 105 mm gun is also available.

Self-propelled howitzer

G6 Howitzer The G6, sometimes denoted as the G6 ''Rhino'', is a South African mine-protected self-propelled howitzer. It was developed as a turreted, self-propelled variant of the G5 howitzer series, mating the gun to a six-wheeled armoured chassis. Des ...

, 6 wheeled 155 mm

self-propelled artillery Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled ...

, Land Systems OMC makes the base vehicle while the gun and turret is built by

Denel Land Systems It was formerly Lyttelton Engineering Works (LIW - from af, Lyttelton Ingenieurswerke), a subsidiary part of the commercial network from Armscor. It then became the ''Systems'' division of the ''Land Systems Group'' of Denel. They are responsib ...

References

External links

Wasp
"Rapid Deployment Reconnaissance Vehicle".
Badger IFV
(Will produce 264 locally modified

Patria AMV The Patria AMV (Armored Modular Vehicle) is an 8×8 multi-role military vehicle produced by the Finnish defence industry company Patria. The main feature of the AMV is its modular design, which allows the incorporation of different turrets, wea ...

s under licence)
Official site

iKlwa
{{automotive industry in South Africa Defence companies of South Africa Denel Economy of Ekurhuleni Military vehicle manufacturers