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 on the East Rand, Gauteng, South Africa, some east of Johannesburg, within the City of Ekurhuleni municipality. Benoni was also the setting for the MTV-inspired movie ''Crazy Monkey: Straight Outta Benoni'', released internat ...

. The OMC segment of the name is the

initialism An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial letter of each word in all caps wi ...

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. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

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

South African Army The South African Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of South Africa, a part of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), along with the South African Air Force, South African Navy and South African Military Health Servi ...

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 Fo ...

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

Rooikat The Rooikat (Afrikaans for "Caracal"; ) is a South African armoured reconnaissance vehicle equipped with a stabilised high velocity gun for organic anti-tank and fire support purposes. The Rooikat's main armament was built with the Oto Mela ...

and Eland

armoured cars Armored (or armoured) car may refer to: Wheeled armored vehicles * Armored car (military), a wheeled armoured fighting vehicle * Armored car (valuables), an armored van or truck used to transport valuables * Armored car (VIP), a civilian vehic ...

and the 6x6 chassis used by the G6 howitzer, in addition to South Africa's highly successful

Okapi The okapi (; ''Okapia johnstoni''), also known as the forest giraffe, Congolese giraffe and zebra giraffe, is an artiodactyl mammal that is endemic to the northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa. However, non-invasive gen ...

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 gre ...

, 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 Vehicle (MRAPV), also known as MRAP vehicle, is a type of armoured personnel carrier that is designed specifically to withstand land mines, improvised explosive device (IED) attacks, and ambushes to save troops' li ...

armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

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: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

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 Alvis is a given name and a surname (close to the uncommon Scottish surname Alves). Alvis may also refer to: *Alvi, a Muslim community in South Asia, who claims descent from the fourth Rashidun caliph, Ali ibn Abi Talib *Alvis Car and Engineering ...

, 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 BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...

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 Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

and

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

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 Angol ...

. This harsh environment demanded good mobility as well as protection against

anti-tank mine An anti-tank or AT mine is a type of land mine designed to damage or destroy vehicles including tanks and armored fighting vehicles. Compared to anti-personnel mines, anti-tank mines typically have a much larger explosive charge, and a fuze desi ...

s. 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 Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and Blackwater Security amongst others. *

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

, 4x4 wheeled APC, crew of 12. *

RG-12 The RG-12 (nicknamed 'Nyala') is a multi-purpose armoured personnel carrier. It has anti-personnel mine, grenade, fire bomb and small arms fire protection that is manufactured by Land Systems OMC (a business unit of BAE Systems) of South Afr ...

, 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 Vehicle manufactured in South Africa by Land Systems OMC (a division of Denel SOC LTD), located in Benoni, South Africa and in Turkey by FNSS Defence Systems. It is base ...

, 4x4 wheeled APC, crew of 10 (driver + nine). * RG-32 Scout, 4x4 wheeled APC, crew of 5. * RG Outrider, 4x4 wheeled APC, crew of 4. *

RG-33 The RG-33 is a mine-resistant light armored vehicle initially designed by BAE Systems Land Systems South Africa (formerly Land Systems OMC), a South African subsidiary of BAE Systems. BAE Systems in the US extensively modified it with additio ...

, 4x4 or 6x6 wheeled APC. * RG-34. 4x4 wheeled APC, crew of 5. * Pinzgauer 4x4 and 6x6 all terrain vehicles *

Iklwa An assegai or assagai is a polearm used for throwing, usually a light spear or javelin made up of a wooden handle with an iron tip. Area of use The use of various types of the assegai was widespread all over Africa and it was the most common we ...

, modernised version of the Ratel

infantry fighting vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle and armoured personnel carrier used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct fire, direct-fire suppo ...

Rapid deployment vehicle

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

Armoured fighting vehicle (AFV)

, 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, 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 mo ...

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

Denel Land Systems Denel Land Systems is a division of the Denel group. It was formerly Lyttelton Engineering Works (LIW—from ), a subsidiary part of the commercial network from Armscor. It then became the ''Systems'' division of the ''Land Systems Group'' of ...

References

External links

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

Patria AMV The Patria AMV (Armoured Modular Vehicle) is an Eight-wheel drive, 8×8 multi-role list of military vehicles, military vehicle produced by the Finland, Finnish defence industry company Patria (company), Patria. The main feature of the AMV is its ...

s under licence)
Official site

iKlwa
{{Witwatersrand companies Defence companies of South Africa Denel Economy of Ekurhuleni Military vehicle manufacturers