Armscor
Armscor, the Armaments Corporation of South Africa is a South African government-supported weapon-producing conglomerate that was officially established in 1968, primarily as a response to the international sanctions by the United Nations against South Africa that began in 1963 and were formalized in 1967. During the 1960s and 1970s, Armscor produced a great deal of South Africa's armament as the state faced a tightening UN arms embargo. It was during this time that Armscor contracted with Gerald Bull's Space Research Corporation for advanced 155 mm howitzer designs.
Once established, Armscor absorbed the Atlas Aircraft Corporation. The Atlas Aircraft Corporation of South Africa (also known as Atlas Aviation) was established in 1965 to manufacture sophisticated military aircraft and avionics equipment for the South African Air Force, as well as for export. It was also established primarily to circumvent an international arms embargo implemented in 1963. Atlas Aircraft was also involved in non-conventional weapons systems research and development in 1987/88, to produce an EMP Cannon for Armscor, which was to be used primarily in shooting down Russian Migs in the Angolan Conflict.
With the establishment of Denel (state owned aerospace and defence technology conglomerate established in 1991), many parts of Armscor's missions and functions were changed and redirected. With the establishment of Denel the manufacturing subsidiaries of Armscor were split from Armscor in order for Armscor to be solely the procurement arm of the South African Defence Force (SADF), now known as the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and the manufacturing divisions were grouped together under Denel (Pty) Ltd as divisions.
