HOME



picture info

Umkhonto (missile)
The Umkhonto (Zulu language, Zulu: Spear) is a family of vertical launching system, vertical-launched, surface-to-air missiles developed by Denel Dynamics. Umkhonto is designed to be a modern, short to medium-range missile, with an all-weather launch capability. Operating at supersonic speeds, the Umkhonto utilises infrared homing technology to provide point and limited local air defence against multiple attacks of aircraft and missiles. Denel initially developed the Umkhonto to equip the four Valour-class frigate, Valour-class frigates of the South African Navy with an anti-air capability, with the first successful naval launch achieved in 2005 from SAS Amatola, SAS ''Amatola''. The South African Army has also invested in the project as part of a programme to replace the obsolete, and now retired, 122 Squadron SAAF, Cactus mobile short-ranged ground-based air defence system. The Umkhonto has secured notable export success, with the missile currently being operated by Finnish and ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Ocean; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini; and it encloses Lesotho. Covering an area of , the country has Demographics of South Africa, a population of over 64 million people. Pretoria is the administrative capital, while Cape Town, as the seat of Parliament of South Africa, Parliament, is the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein is regarded as the judicial capital. The largest, most populous city is Johannesburg, followed by Cape Town and Durban. Cradle of Humankind, Archaeological findings suggest that various hominid species existed in South Africa about 2.5 million years ago, and modern humans inhabited the ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Drone Warfare; 2024. e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-074203-9.H. Pan; M. Zahmatkesh; F. Rekabi-Bana; F. Arvin; J. HuT-STAR: Time-Optimal Swarm Trajectory Planning for Quadrotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 2025. UAVs were originally developed through the twentieth century for military missions too "dull, dirty or dangerous" for humans, and by the twenty-first, they had become essential assets to most militaries. As control technologies improved and costs fell, their use expanded to many non-military applications. These include aerial photography, area coverage,F. Rekabi-Bana; Hu, J.; T. Krajník; Arvin, F.,Unified Robust Path Planning and Optimal Trajectory Generation for Efficient 3D Area Coverage of ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Denel Overberg Test Range
The Denel Overberg Test Range is a weapons systems testing facility in the Overberg region on the south coast of South Africa, near Arniston, Western Cape. It includes launch pads and tracking systems. It was used to test the RSA series of Israeli-South African missiles until cancellation in 1992; since then it has been used by a variety of countries and clients. Until 31 March 2011, it was known as simply the Overberg Test Range or OTB (Afrikaans abbreviation for ''Overberg Toetsbaan''). Facilities Facilities at the site include missile launch pads, tracking radar, optical missile tracking systems, cinetheodolites as well as the use of Overberg Air Force Base, home of the South African Air Force Test Flight and Development Centre. The layout appears to mirror the testing site at Palmachim, suggesting Israeli input in the design process. Instrumentation includes: * IRIG timecode telecommand transmission * Precision instrumentation radars with velocity measurement and abil ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the world's largest brackish water basin. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 10°E to 30°E longitude. It is a Continental shelf#Shelf seas, shelf sea and marginal sea of the Atlantic with limited water exchange between the two, making it an inland sea. The Baltic Sea drains through the Danish straits into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, Great Belt and Little Belt. It includes the Gulf of Bothnia (divided into the Bothnian Bay and the Bothnian Sea), the Gulf of Finland, the Gulf of Riga and the Bay of Gdańsk. The "Baltic Proper" is bordered on its northern edge, at latitude 60°N, by Åland and the Gulf of Bothnia, on its northeastern edge by the Gulf of Finland, on its eastern edge by the Gulf of Riga, and in the ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Hämeenmaa-class Minelayer
The ''Hämeenmaa''-class minelayers (-luokan miinalaiva) is a two-vessel strong class of coastal minelayers, used by the Finnish Navy. The Finnish Navy ordered the lead ship ''Hämeenmaa'' as a replacement for the venerable minelayer ''Keihässalmi'', while the second ship brought the number of Finnish Navy minelayers to three, complementing the slightly larger ''Pohjanmaa''. The ships were constructed at the Rauma shipyard by Finnyards. The ships have a steel hull and aluminum alloy superstructure. The class has an ice operating classification of ICE-1A and can operate year-round in ice up to 40 cm thick. During a crisis the main task for the ''Hämeenmaa''-class ships is minelaying, but the vessels can also act as escort, transport and depot ships. History The contract for the ''Hämeenmaa'' class was originally awarded to Wärtsilä Marine but following its bankruptcy the contract was transferred to Hollming. Turmoil in the Finnish shipbuilding industry did n ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile
The RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) is a small, lightweight, infrared homing surface-to-air missile in use by the German, Japanese, Greek, Turkish, South Korean, Saudi Arabian, Egyptian, Mexican, UAE, and United States navies. It was originally intended and used primarily as a point-defense weapon against anti-ship missiles. As its name indicates, RAM rolls as it flies. The missile must roll during flight because the RF tracking system uses a two-antenna interferometer that can measure phase interference of the electromagnetic wave in one plane only. The rolling interferometer permits the antennas to look at all planes of incoming energy. In addition, because the missile rolls, only one pair of steering canards is required. , it is the only U.S. Navy missile to operate in this manner. The Rolling Airframe Missiles, together with the Mk 49 Guided Missile Launching System (GMLS) and support equipment, make up the RAM Mk 31 Guided Missile Weapon System (GMWS). The Mk-1 ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Missile Boat
A missile boat or missile cutter is a small, fast warship armed with anti-ship missiles. Being smaller than other warships such as destroyers and frigates, missile boats are popular with nations interested in forming a navy at lower cost. They are similar in concept to the torpedo boats of World War II; in fact, the first missile boats were modified torpedo boats with the torpedo tubes replaced by missile tubes. The doctrine behind the use of missile boats is based on the principle of mobility over defence and firepower. The advent of proper guided missile and electronic countermeasure technologies gave birth to the idea that warships could now be designed to outmaneuver their enemies and conceal themselves while carrying powerful weapons. Previously, increasing the potency of naval artillery required larger projectiles, which required larger and heavier guns, which in turn called for larger ships to carry these guns and their ammunition and absorb their recoil. This trend c ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Hamina-class Missile Boat
The ''Hamina''-class missile boat is a class of fast attack craft of the Finnish Navy. They are classified as "missile fast attack craft" or ''ohjusvene'', literally "missile boat" in Finnish. The ''Hamina'' FACs are based at Upinniemi, and form the 7th Surface Warfare Squadron, part of the Finnish Coastal Fleet, together with the minelayers MLC ''Hämeenmaa'', ''Porkkala'' and ''Pyhäranta''. History The vessels were built in the late 1990s, early 2000s, and are the fourth generation of Finnish missile craft. The first vessel was ordered in December 1996 and the fourth was handed over on 19 June 2006. Since the launch of the s, all fast attack craft have been named after Finnish coastal cities. The class was previously known also as ''Rauma 2000'' following its predecessor the . The four vessels form what the Finnish Navy calls ''Squadron 2000'' (). Initially the Finnish Navy considered several different compositions for the new squadron, and at one point only two ''Ha ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Finnish Navy
The Finnish Navy ( , ) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. The navy employs 2,300 people and about 4,300 conscripts are trained each year. Finnish Navy vessels are given the ship prefix "FNS", short for "Finnish Navy ship", but this is not used in Finnish-language contexts. The Finnish Navy also includes coastal forces and coastal artillery. Organization The current Commander of the Navy is rear admiral Tuomas Tiilikainen. The navy is organized into the Navy Command, three Brigade-level units, and the Naval Academy. Since 1998 the navy also includes the Nyland Brigade in Dragsvik, where Finnish Marines or '' Coastal Jaegers'' are trained. The Nyland Brigade is also the only Swedish-language unit in the country and it carries on the traditions and battle-honours of the Nyland (Uusimaa) Regiment of the Swedish Army. Locations * Navy Command headquarters: ( Heikkilä, Turku) * Naval depot: Pansio and Kimito Bases * Coastal Brigade: ( Upinniemi, Kir ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Cape Agulhas
Cape Agulhas (; , "Cape of Needles") is a rocky headland in Western Cape, South Africa. It is the geographic southern tip of Africa and the beginning of the traditional dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian oceans according to the International Hydrographic Organization. It is approximately half a degree of latitude, or , farther south than the Cape of Good Hope. Historically, the cape has been known to sailors as a major hazard on the traditional clipper route. It is sometimes regarded as one of the great capes. It was most commonly known in English as Cape L'Agulhas until the 20th century. The town of L'Agulhas is near the cape. Geography Cape Agulhas is located in the Overberg region, 170 kilometres (105 mi) southeast of Cape Town. The cape was named by Portuguese navigators, who called it ''Cabo das Agulhas''— Portuguese for "Cape of Needles"—after noticing that around the year 1500 the direction of magnetic north (and therefore the compass ne ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

South African Arms Deal
The Strategic Defence Package, popularly known as the Arms Deal, was a major defence procurement programme undertaken to re-equip the South African armed forces for the post-apartheid era. It is commonly associated with the large-scale corruption that is alleged to have taken place during and after the procurement process. Some critics have said that the Arms Deal was a defining moment or turning point for the African National Congress (ANC) government, less than five years into its tenure. Following decades of sanctions and a major review of its functions and strategy, the Department of Defence sought to modernise its defence equipment and prepare to participate in a broader range of peace-keeping, defensive, and possibly offensive operations outside South Africa's borders. In 1998, Parliament and the cabinet of President Nelson Mandela, both dominated by the ANC, approved a Defence Review Report which entailed large scale procurement of defence equipment. In December 1999, th ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]