Denel plans strong presence at Abu Dhabi show

Riaz Saloojee, chief executive of Denel says IDEX is the most opportune exhibition for the company to present and demonstrate its products and services to defence decision-makers in the region. The 2011 IDEX was attended by official delegations from 52 countries.

"We have identified the Middle East as one of the primary regions for our new marketing drive," says Saloojee. "At IDEX we will have an opportunity to put some of our flagship products on display and speak directly to potential clients."

Denel has maintained strong ties with clients in the Gulf region for many years. The G6 self-propelled artillery system, manufactured by Denel Land Systems, is currently in use by the defence forces of the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

(Image: Denel)

In September last year, Denel Dynamics entered a joint venture with Tawazun Holdings, an investment and defence manufacturing company, owned by the government of Abu Dhabi. The new company, Tawazun Dynamics, is the Middle East region's first facility for the development, manufacture, assembly and integration of precision-guided systems for conventional air munitions.

The first product jointly developed by Tawazun Dynamics, the Al-Tariq precision-guided bomb kit will make its debut at IDEX.

Denel products will be on display at a number of exhibition stands at IDEX, including being part of the South African pavilion. The focus will be predominantly on missile technology, unmanned aerial vehicle systems, landward defence and turret systems for mechanised infantry.

A scale model of the Seeker 400, the new generation tactical unmanned aerial vehicle system will be at the Denel stand. The company will also showcase a range of its tactical missile products - the Mokopa anti-armour system, the Umkhonto-IT surface-to-air missile and the Ingwe laser-guided anti-tank missile.

Denel Land Systems will display scale models of its recently upgraded G6-52. The highly-mobile self-propelled howitzer has been upgraded with an increased firing range and ability to fire up to eight rounds a minute.

The company's range of turret systems that can be fitted to armoured fighting vehicles will also be demonstrated to visitors. Last year, Denel signed a R3.5bn contract with Malaysia to supply turrets and integrated weapon systems to be fitted to 8X8 armoured vehicles.

(Image: Denel)

The NTW-20 anti-materiel rifle usually attracts much attention at defence exhibitions. The NTW-20 can destroy high-value targets with the pin-point accuracy of a sniper rifle without causing extensive collateral damage to the surrounding environment.

Other infantry weapons that will be showcased are the SS77, general-purpose machine gun, the SS77 Compact and the GLI-40 (AGL) grenade launcher.

Saloojee says Denel will maintain a strong presence at a number of major international defence exhibitions in 2013, especially in the Middle East, South East Asia and South America.