SOUTH AFRICAN MISSILE manufacturer Kentron and GEC of the UK have pieced together a deal allowing the former to offer a variant of the GEC Brimstone millimetre-wave (MMW) seeker on its ZT6 anti-tank missile.
The ZT6 will form the primary anti-armour weapon for the Atlas CSH-2 Rooivalk attack helicopter, replacing the ZT-3 Swift laser-guided missiles. Both laser- and MMW-guided variants of the ZT6 are being developed.
GEC and Kentron first entered discussions on linking on an MMW missile during the UK's attack-helicopter competition. The talks resulted from Kentron's inability to offer the Hellfire because of a US embargo. The ZT-3 did not meet the UK's requirement.
GEC-Marconi declines to discuss its missile tie-up with the South African Company.
Alongside the ZT-6, GEC and Kentron may also collaborate on GEC's bid to meet the Royal Air Force's requirement for a conventional standoff missile, Staff Requirement (Air) 1236.
In the run-up to its Pegasus submission, say sources close to its bid, GEC invited Kentron to bid in as a system subcontractor on the project. It remains unclear whether the GEC bid to the UK Ministry of Defence included Kentron.
GEC had teamed with British Aerospace Dynamics in offering Pegasus, a derivative of its Hakim family of weapons for the United Arab Emirates. This arrangement fell apart following BAe's proposed merger with Matra. GEC's interest in Kentron is likely to fill in part the gap left by BAe.
Kentron has its long-range-missile project under way in the shape of the modular precision standoff weapon (MUPSOW) for the South African Air Force.
Development of MUPSOW continues, although funding for the programme has been reduced, say sources close to the project. The weapon is believed to resemble the Matra/Aerospatiale Apache, although there are two fuselage-mounted intakes for the engine, rather than one under fuselage scoop, as in the Apache.
Source: Flight International