-Caveat Lector-
>From defence-data.com
> India seeks African shells
>
>
>
>
> June 4th, 1999
>
> by Leon Engelbrecht, Defence Systems Daily's correspondent in South
> Africa
>
> An Indian newspaper is reporting that the country's defence ministry
> is "finalising terms" with South Africa's state-owned defence
> industrial group, Denel, to purchase "155mm shells for Bofors
> howitzers". The Indian Express reports that the howitzers are being
> used extensively by Indian troops fighting insurgents in the Kargil
> district of the disputed Kashmir region.
>
> The report said the Indian government is likely to finalise the deal
> over the next few days. The Indian Express said the military was
> hoping to buy 25,000 shells, at US $1000 each. That takes the total
> price tag to US $25m. The report stated that India was also seeking to
> buy ammunition elsewhere as its stocks have become severely depleted
> because of the upswing in fighting Kashmir. A further US $22m is said
> to be available for those purchases, making the total US $47m. India
> has a domestic production capability but this has reportedly been
> severely affected by US sanctions imposed in the wake of last year's
> nuclear weapons tests. The report has not been independently verified
> and Denel has yet to comment.
>
> India bought the FH-77 howitzers from Sweden in the 1980s but a
> bribery scandal afterwards soured relations and India turned elsewhere
> for ammunition and related expendables. Reunert Group
> defence-electronics company, Fuchs, recently supplied India with an
> order of 155mm fuses. India has also bought ammunition locally before.
>
>
> Denel's shell production facility is located at Potchefstroom in the
> Northwest Province (about 100km south-west of Johannesburg) and is in
> the care of its Naschem subsidiary. Naschem says its 155mm "shell
> projectile is at the core of the headline-making G5 and G6
> gun-howitzer system. They have been used to great effect in 39, 45 and
> 52 calibre guns of various origins..." The shell is available with or
> without base bleed and comes in three types: HE, Practice and cluster.
> Another feature of Naschem's 155mm shells are that "boat tails and
> base bleed motors are totally interchangeable".
>
> India may also be interested in the Somchem (a sister company to
> Naschem within the Denel group) VLAP or velocity enhanced long range
> artillery projectile. The company's brochure says VLAP is a "velocity
> enhanced 155mm projectile designed to extend the operational range for
> most 39, 45 and 52 calibre howitzers by about 10 kilometres". It says
> VLAP is a supplementary sub-system to existing ammunition systems that
> requires no special drills or logistics. VLAP should be available to
> clients this year.
>
> But before spending too much attention on what India can buy in South
> Africa, it may prove worthwhile to see if they will be allowed to buy
> anything at this time. Armaments exports by South Africa are regulated
> by the National Conventional Arms Control Committee. This is a
> cabinet-level committee headed by (Water Affairs and Forestry)
> Minister Kader Asmal, the ruling ANC's chief expert on ethics and a
> noted lawyer and professor of human rights. The committee also
> includes the ministers for defence, trade and industry, safety and
> security, foreign affairs and intelligence. The committee has not met
> since the Kashmiri crisis erupted and is unlikely to do so in the next
> few weeks.
>
> South Africa is now in the interregnum between yesterday's general
> election (won by the ANC) and the inauguration of outgoing President
> Nelson Mandela's successor, Thabo Mbeki. Before the committee can meet
> Mbeki must appoint his cabinet and several of the ministers serving on
> the committee are either retiring or are likely to be shuffled.
> Indications are that Asmal himself will get a new post. Mbeki is only
> being inaugurated on June 16th. Therefore any meeting of the NCACC
> will probably not take place until after that date.
>
> All exports are approved by the committee on a case-by-case bases.
> Exports to combatants are usually declined, though this should not
> stand in the way of any negotiations aimed at concluding a contract.
>
>
>
>
> REF XQQMA XQQLD
> Australia eases export control rules
>
>
>
>
> June 4th, 1999
>
> Changes to Australia's export control list should reduce significantly
> lead times to issue export permits for a variety of telecommunications
> products and encryption software. An amendment to the Defence and
> Strategic Goods List (DSGL) approved by the Minister for Defence
> incorporates changes agreed multi-laterally over the past 12 months by
> members of four non-proliferation and export control regimes.
>
> "These include the Missile Technology Control Regime, Nuclear
> Suppliers Group, Wassenaar Arrangement and the Australia Group," the
> Director General of Exports and International Programmes, Mr Maurice
> Hermann, said yesterday.
>
> He said although the amendment includes more than 200 major changes,
> most Australian exporters should not be unduly affected. There were,
> however, two particular pieces of 'good news' for exporters of
> communications products and encryption software.
>
> "One significant change is that controls over the export of some
> telecommunications products have been eliminated and assessments for
> others should require less consultation, thus reducing lead times to
> issue export permits."
>
> Mr Hermann said the other significant departure from the previous
> control arrangements should streamline the approval process for
> encryption products. "Whereas all encryption products have been
> controlled up until now, this 'negative list' has been recast into a
> 'positive list'," he said, "and threshold limits have been introduced
> for the first time to reflect current technology and current industry
> practice."
>
> Mr Hermann said encryption products with key lengths of 56 bits or
> less will be decontrolled after a 'one-time-review' to confirm that
> that they meet certain criteria. "In the past there have been NO
> exemptions for mass market products," he said. "Now, for the first
> time, Australia will exempt from control mass market software which
> employs a 'symmetric algorithm' of 64 bits or less."
>
> Mr Hermann described the revised DSGL as a significant liberalisation
> of current controls over telecommunications and encryption products
> and technology. "These new controls will benefit in particular the
> Australian exporters of encryption products by creating a level
> playing field with the world's other major producers of hi-tech
> security products," he said. "One other outcome of these changes is to
> make the controls more E-commerce friendly."
>
>
>
>
> REF XQQPC XQQTY
A<>E<>R
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