Breaking news
Starstreak air defense missile system now included in South African Army assets.
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Defence & Security News - South Africa |
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Thursday, October 16, 2014 01:17 PM | |||
Starstreak air defense missile system now included in South African Army assets | |||
South
African Army Chief, Lieutenant General Vusi Masondo, yesterday officially
took the Starstreak ground-based air defence missile system into the landward
forces inventory. The handover took place at 10th Anti-Aircraft Regiment
headquarters at Diskobolos, Kimberley as is part of the Army’s drive
to rejuvenate its hardware, alluded to by Masondo last month when he met
the media. |
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Starstreak
air defense missile system multiple launcher variant |
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The system, according to
an Army statement, comes in two configurations: a multiple launcher
unit and a shoulder-launched unit. This is a very short range air defence
(VSHORAD) system that will be utilised by the Air Defence Artillery
Formation as a fire unit to defend critical installations.
The system came to South Africa early in 2004. It then underwent extensive modification and enhancement at Denel Land Systems to adapt it to African conditions and the specification requirements of the Air Defence Artillery Formation to the point where it is now ready to be taken into service with a six kilometre range. The testing phase saw both the multiple launcher and shoulder-launched unit trialled at AFB Zwartkop and Denel’s Overberg Test Range as well as the Air Defence Artillery range at Riemvasmaak in Northern Cape. No indication of the number
of units the Army will take into service has been made available. The
official word is that the handover of the “state-of-the-art Starstreak
missile system is one of the military’s projects to gradually
do away with ageing equipment and ensure the men and women in uniform
are adequately armed to defence the territorial integrity of the Republic
of South Africa”. |
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