Denel Pretoria Metal Pressings (PMP) has delivered 6 000 rounds of 20×139 mm ammunition to the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and is in the process of delivering another 5 000 rounds.
This is according to the 2019/20 Denel annual report, which said that the 20×139 mm Multipurpose Ammo Project was successfully concluded for the SANDF in collaboration with Norway’s Nammo. The Nammo rounds are now qualified PMP products.
PMP and Nammo first agreed to collaborate on ammunition around 2013, particularly regarding Nammo ammunition in calibres and types PMP does not produce, such as 7.62 mm armour piercing. Nammo, via PMP, had previously sold some of the latter type to South Africa’s Special Forces. Under the terms of the agreement, PMP can only sell Nammo ammunition in South Africa. Besides Denel PMP having a collaboration agreement with Nammo for distributing Nammo products, it also has the capability of Lapping (loading and packaging) certain Nammo products utilising selected locally manufactured Denel PMP components (i.e. cartridge cases and primers).
“The product and process qualification of the 20×139 mm multipurpose rounds was completed with the participation of Armscor, the SAAF and SANDF’s Chief Technology Office in Pretoria. This is a joint milestone for both PMP and Nammo as it was the first PMP/Nammo collaboration where 6 053 20×139 mm multipurpose rounds were delivered to the SANDF in March 2020.”
Denel stated that a follow-up order for 5 000 rounds was successfully tendered for and was scheduled for delivery before March 2021.
The Denel GI2 (F2) cannon uses the 20×139 mm round. The South African Army’s Ratel-20 vehicles carry the cannon, as do the South African Air Force’s Rooivalk attack helicopters.
In the annual report, Denel added that during the course of October 2020 it commenced a restructuring process within loss-making PMP. The division, which employs nearly 800 people, reported a R224 million loss for the 2020 financial year, up from R213 million the year before.
