An order for the supply of Ratel Mk3 equipment and accessories takes the known amount spent on keeping the veteran BAE Systems Ratel Mk3 infantry combat vehicle product system operational with the South African Army to over R86.171 million since 2007.
The Ratel has now been in service for 34 years. It is an indigenous design developed in the early 1970s to replace the Saracen armoured personnel carrier. The prototype was delivered in 1974 and the first production vehicle in 1976. The Mk2 entered production in 1979 and the Mk3 in 1988. The Mk3 fleet was upgraded in 2001 when about 70 modifications were made.
The latest order, awarded April 21, is worth R159 766.60 to Contracts Logistics Equipment (Pty) Ltd. A second contract, for the “supply, preparation, preservation, packaging, marking and delivery of fuel cap fillers” for the vehicle was awarded to Jorsin the Group CC the same day. The value was
R437 200. This means the SA Army has spent R86 171 995.85 on the Ratel programme since 2007.
Writing in the Engineering News in October 2008, Keith Campbell described the development of the Ratel as follows: “This programme started in the early 1970s, when the South African Army evaluated four AFVs – the Unimog UR-416 from Germany, the French Panhard M3, the Brazilian Engesa Urutu, and a vehicle from local company Springfield Bussing, confusingly named Buffel” [confusingly, as this name was already being used for a mine-protected troop carrier].
Campbell added the three foreign designs were all armoured personnel carriers – “basically, armoured ‘battle taxis’, armed only with a machine gun, which carried troops into battle, at which point they had to disembark to fight”. He noted the SA Army decided to go with a new concept instead. Variously called the armoured infantry fighting vehicle (AIFV) or infantry combat vehicle (ICV), this was pioneered by the Soviet Army in the form of the BMP-1 and the West German Army in the shape of the Marder.
“An AIFV carries a powerful gun (20 mm or 30 mm) as well as a squad of troops, who have their own vision ports and firing ports, so that they can fight from within the vehicle,” Campbell wrote. “So, around 1975/1976, the South African Army decided to adopt an AIFV based on the Springfield Bussing vehicle. This became the Ratel (honey badger, in English), which was mass-produced by Sandock Austral. A monocoque design, the Ratel hulls were made in Sandock Austral’s Durban dockyard and taken by rail to Boksburg for fitting out. The turrets were based on those on the Eland armoured cars – the 20-mm gun turret of the standard Ratel IFV, for example, was a redesigned Eland 90 turret.
A whole family of Ratels was developed – command vehicles, fire support vehicles (with 90mm gun turrets taken from Elands), mortar vehicles (with 60mm breech-loading mortar turrets taken from Eland 60s), and, later, tank destroyers armed with Denel Dynamics ZT3 Ingwe antitank missiles, and mortar carriers with 81mm muzzle-loading mortars carried in what had been the troop compartment.
The Ratel is scheduled for partial replacement by the Badger, some 264 of which are slated for production under Project Hoefyster.
CHASSIS
Supply of Ratel MK3 equipment and accessories
EIVS/2010/411 21 Apr 2011 R159 766,60 Contracts Logistics Equipment (Pty) Ltd
Supply, preparation, preservation, packaging, marking and delivery of fuel cap fillers for the Ratel MK3
EIVS/2010/474 21 Apr 2011 R437 200,00 Jorsin the Group CC
Supply of maintenance kits for Ratel MK3 vehicles
EIVS/2010/353 24 Feb 2011 R1 157 335,50 Fossil Asset Management
Maintenance and repair of Ratel Mk3 engines
EIVS/2010/330 20 Jan 2011 R8 241 426,96 Mayibuye Engineering (Pty) Ltd
t/a Fleetline Motors
Supply of opening tank fuel cap fillers for the Ratel products system
EIVS/2010/271 11 Nov 2010 R437 200,00 Jorsin the Group CC Wadeville
Wadeville
Maintenance and repair of Ratel Mk3 components
EIVS/2010/268 11 Nov 2010 R176 260,50 Jorsin the Group CC Wadeville
Maintenance and repair of Ratel Mk3 vehicles – extension of EIVS/2008/502
IVS/S2010/1211 14 Oct 2010 R804 764,00 Jorsin the Group CC Wadeville
IVS/S2010/1161 6 Oct 2010 R1 609 528,00 Jorsin the Group CC Wadeville
IVS/S2009/0991 22 Oct 2009 R2 543 858,91 Jorsin the Group CC Wadeville
Supply A&E class spares for the Ratel Mk3 product system
EIVS/2009/554 8 Oct 2010 R4 755 895,14 BAE Systems
Maintenance and repair of Ratel MK3 vehicles – extension of EIVS/2008/502
IVS/S2010/1161 6 Oct 2010 R1 609 528,00 Jorsin the Group CC Wadeville
Supply of Ratel MK3 vehicle maintenance kits
EIVS/2010/153 2 Sep 2010 R769 959,00 Contracts Logistics Equipment
t/a Valfrira Motor Engineering
Import of Ratel MK3, 20 mm ICV, logistic support analysis requirement onto Calmis – extension of EIVS/2009/227
IVS/S2010/1145 2 Sep 2010 R504 108,00 BAE Systems
Maintenance and repair of Ratel Mk3 Ground Based Air Defence Systems vehicles
EIVS/2010/32 15 Jul 2010 R1 400 000,00 BAE Systems
Maintenance and repair of Ratel Mk3 components – extension of EIVS/2008/503
IVS/S2010/1100 1 Jul 2010 R1 374 053,00 BAE Systems
Repair and maintenance of Ratel MK3 basic engine
EIVS/2009/355 4 Feb 2010 R4 280 159,07 VME Engineering (Pty) Ltd
Supply and delivery of fuel cap and chain assembly for the Ratel MK3 – extension of EIVS/2009/98
IVS/S2009/0996 10 Dec 2009 R35 400,00 BAE Systems
Supply of A & E class spares for Ratel Mk3 product system – extension of EIVS/2008/549
IVS/S2009/0918 6 Aug 2009 R3 610 387,46 BAE Systems
Maintenance and repair of Ratel Mk3 products system
EIVS/2008/502 5 Aug 2009 R8 861 283,00 Jorsin the Group CC
Procurement of E-class spares for the Ratel product system
EIVS/2009/98 5 Aug 2009 R393 345,00 BAE Systems
Repair of Ratel Mk3 turret spares and components
EIVS/2008/553 12 Jun 2009 R1 169 705,00 BAE Systems
Maintenance and repair of Ratel Mk3 Ground Based Air Defence System – extension of EMFT/2005/315
IVS/S2009/0936 25 Jun 2009 R300 000,00 BAE Systems
Depot level repair of Ratel Mk3 A-class vehicle spares and components
EIVS/2008/503 21 May 2009 R4 414 058,00 BAE Systems
Supply A and E class spares for the Ratel product system
EIVS/2008/549 16 Apr 2009 R1 779 880,80 Denel Land Systems
Staff support in support of products systems management functions – Ratel MK3 to product systems management
EIVS/2008/192 2 Oct 2008 R1 942 467,50 Armscor Business (Pty) Ltd
t/a Defence Institute
Staff support in support of product system management functions for Ratel vehicles – extension of EIVS/2007/58
IVS/S2008/0764 28 Aug 2008 R8 500,00 Armscor Defence Institutes (Pty) Ltd
t/a Defence Decision Support Institute
Systems engineering services for the Ratel infantry combat vehicle system
EIVS/2008/102 28 Aug 2008 R793 925,00 BAE Systems
Supply of spares for Ratel Mk3 A-class items – extension of EIVS/2006/527
IVS/S2008/0753 21 Aug 2008 R170 204,00 BAE Systems
Procurement of voltage regulators for Ratel Mk3
EIVS/2008/72 14 Aug 2008 R194 040,00 BAE Systems
Repair and maintenance of Ratel MK 3 fleet – extension of EMFT/2006/363
IVS/S2008/0704 26 Jun 2008 R387 000,00 Jorsin Midas Herbouers Booyens
IVS/S2007/0624 25 Jan 2008 R877 192,00 Jorsin Midas Herbouers Booyens
IVS/S2007/0554 26 Jul 2007 R701 754,00 Jorsin Midas Herbouers Booyens
Procurement of A & E Class spares and equipment for the Ratel product system
EIVS/2007/505 13 Mar 2008 R3 301 097,13 BAE Systems
Repair of Ratel Mk3 equipment and accessories set for the Ratel products system
EIVS/2007/509 13 Mar 2008 R2 475 513,88 Contracts Logistics Equipment
Maintenance and repair of Ratel products system for the 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 financial years
EIVS/2007/377 14 Feb 2008 R9 032 149,23 Jorsin the Group CC
Repair and maintenance of Ratel Mk3 fleet
EIVS/2006/363 24 Oct 2007 R1 719 297,00 Jorsin Midas Herbouers (Pty) Ltd
Continuation of staff support in support of products systems management functions – Ratel Mk3
EIVS/2007/58 24 Oct 2007 R239 644,50 Armscor Defence Institutes (Pty) Ltd
t/a Defence Decision Support Institute
Supply and repair of Ratel MK 3 platform spares
EIVS/2006/527 27 Sep 2007 R2 605 794,37 BAE Systems
Repair of ETS sets for Ratel Mk3
EMFT/2006/353 31 May 2007 R2 553 002,23 Contracts Logistics Equipment
Repair of Ratel dropdown gearboxes
EIVS/2006/361 28 Mar 2007 R259 910,52 BAE Systems
Supply of Ratel manufacturing spares
EMFT/2006/283 17 Jan 2007 R112 168,60 Contracts Logistics Equipment
TTS Electronics
WEAPONS SYSTEMS
Maintenance and repair of Ratel Mk3 20 mm guns and components – extension of EIVS/2010/25
IVS/S2010/1221 18 Nov 2010 R1 067 392,80 Denel Land Systems: Lyttelton
Maintenance and repair of Ratel Mk3 20 mm guns and components
EIVS/2010/25 21 Jul 2010 R1 067 392,80 Denel Land Systems: Lyttelton
Depot level repair of Ratel Mk3 20 mm gun and components
EIVS/2008/459 14 May 2009 R231 502,20 Denel Land Systems: Lyttelton
Supply of gun automatic 20 mm G12 (F2) and gun 90 mm GT2 for the Ratel products system
EIVS/2008/416 16 Apr 2009 R494 271,95 Denel Land Systems: Lyttelton
Depot level repair of Ratel MK3 optical equipment
EIVS/2008/457 18 Mar 2009 R712 880,00 Spektrum Logistieke Ondersteuningsdienste
Supply A and E class spares for the Ratel product system
EIVS/2008/549 16 Apr 2009 R1 779 880,80 Denel Land Systems: Lyttelton
Maintenance and repair of 12 guns automatic 20 mm G12 (F2) for the Ratel products system
EIVS/2007/500 6 Mar 2008 R613 752,00 Denel Land Systems: Lyttelton
Supply and repair of Ratel Mk 3 weapon spares
EIVS/2006/526 13 Jun 2007 R2 006 161,40 Denel Land Systems: Lyttelton