New clients, new products tested at the Denel Overberg Test Range

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The Denel Overberg Test Range (OTR) witnessed new clients and new products, such as the SCRAB II target drone, being tested at the facility in the last year.

The SCRAB II, manufactured by Spain’s SCR, was recently demonstrated to the South African Army Air Defence Artillery Formation at the Western Cape facility. The demonstration was done in conjunction with Denel Mechatronics (part of Denel Vehicle Systems), which provides aerial target services to the SA Army.

During the mid-2016 demonstration, the SCRAB II performed a high-speed flypast with smoke generator activated before being placed in a holding pattern so guests could see the functioning of infrared augmentation flares on the drone. After the demonstration flight, the SCRAB II was safely recovered, Denel OTR said.
“It was a great honour to successfully host this demonstration at Denel Overberg Test Range,” said Abrie van der Walt, CEO of Denel OTR. He also stated that he believed that more clients will make use of the SCRAB II drone during tests at the Test Range in future. The drone is being promoted to South African and international clients, including the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

The SCRAB II can be launched from ground or ship platforms. The drone is powered by two small jet engines using either jet fuel or paraffin. Its autopilot allows for a totally autonomous flight plan, from takeoff to recovery with data link range of more than 100 km. With a single Ground Control Station an operator can control up to four SCRABs simultaneously. A wide range of payloads are available to cover any exercise requirements, including radar-altimeter for sea skimming exercises as well as visual, infrared and radar enhancement devices.

The SCRAB II is 2.9 metres long, has a 2.5 metre wingspan, a 90 kg takeoff weight and 10 kg payload. Endurance is 60 minutes and speed range of 180 to 430 km/h.

According to the latest Denel annual report for 2015/16, the Denel Overberg Test Range had a fairly busy year, which included providing in-flight test services to the SANDF under a multi-year contract, hosting the Rheinmetall Denel Defence Day in April 2015, and conducting test campaigns for European and South East Asian clients, involving a naval exercise and testing of air defence weapons, as well as rocket firings for a new client.

A notable development was the range securing a contract to provide flight test support services at two test sites in Europe, which is the first flight test support provided outside the Overberg Test Range. However, due to customer confidentiality agreements, Denel cannot disclose who the customers are.

For the 2015/16 financial year, the Denel OTR generated R116 million in revenue (R37 million of it being export revenue) and recorded earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of R14 million. This compares to R170 million in revenue for the 2014/15 financial year and R15 million in EBIT.

Germany may use the test range next year to test its Taurus air-to-ground missile. Germany in the past made extensive use of the range, taking out a contract to test the Taurus air-launched cruise missile in 1999. Between then and 2014, the Taurus was tested at the OTR eight times. The German Navy began using the range from 2000.

OTR is a versatile missile and aircraft test range specialising in performance evaluation and verification services on in-flight systems. It provides support for qualifying airborne systems, as well as validating the operational effectiveness of military systems for South African military industrial users, international defence forces and the armaments sector. Denel OTR has completed over a thousand test campaigns since 1991.