OREANDA-NEWS. The State Corporation Rostec and the Group of Companies Denel (South Africa) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which provides for the development of cooperation in the military and technical sphere, including through the organization of joint research, exchange of experience, information and technology. The document was signed by Dmitry Shugayev, Deputy General Director of Rostec, and Ghandi Badela, member of the Board of Directors of Denel Group.

This agreement was signed in the presence of the Secretary of Defence of South Africa – Dr. Sam Makhudu Gulube.

“It is especially pleasant that Rostec is signing this Memorandum with one of the partners in the BRICS bloc, within which the corporation is ready to implement, both bilateral and multilateral projects,” said Dmitry Shugayev, Deputy General Director of Rostec. “We have been successfully cooperating with one of the divisions of Denel, Denel Aviation, and we are confident that both parties will only benefit from further development of cooperation. The document that we have signed opens up good prospects for the implementation of specific projects in the defense industry on mutually beneficial conditions.”

The memorandum provides for the establishment of a joint working group that will develop specific projects, coordinate their implementation and monitor the fulfillment of the obligations, undertaken by the parties. The document is designed for a one-year period and may be extended by mutual consent of the parties. The document outlines the main areas of cooperation, including: exchange of experience, developments, cutting-edge technologies and information, joint development, production and modernization of weapons systems and military equipment, the sale of arms and military equipment, produced as part of the joint programs, to third parties.

The cooperation between Rostec and Denel was initiated in September 2012. Then, at an exhibition in Pretoria, the company Denel Aviation, which is part of Denel and the largest South African producer of military equipment, signed an agreement on the establishment of a regional service center for maintenance of Russian helicopters in the African region with Russian Helicopters, which is part of Rostec. The center was opened in March 2013 in Johannesburg.

At the international air show in Le Bourget 2013, Oboronprom and the company Denel Aviation signed a contract to expand the possibilities of the service center for maintenance, repair and modernization of the helicopters MI-8/17, which was created in South Africa. The parties agreed to greatly expand the functionality of the service center. It will carry out not only comprehensive maintenance, but also complex repair and modernization of Mi-8/17 helicopters for civilian and military purposes.

State Corporation Russian Technologies (Rostec) is a Russian corporation, established in 2007 to promote development, production and export of high-tech industrial products for civil and military purposes. It includes 663 organizations, which currently form 8 holding companies in the defense-industrial sector and 5 holding companies in civilian industries. The organizations of Rostec are located in 60 constituent entities of the Russian Federation and deliver products to the markets of more than 70 countries. In 2012, the revenues of Rostec amounted to 931 billion rubles, with net profit amounting to 38.5 billion rubles. Tax payments to budgets of all levels exceeded 109 billion rubles.

Denel SOC Ltd is the largest company in the defense-industrial sector of the Republic of South Africa, a key supplier of military equipment for the defense forces of the country. It was founded on April 1, 1992 on the basis of the production units of the Armscor Corporation. It includes several divisions, including Denel Aviation (aviation), Denel Dynamics (missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles), Denel land Systems (land vehicles), etc. The company and its branches employ almost 10 thousand people. The revenues in the fiscal year 2011-2012 amounted to 425 million U.S. dollars, with net profit for the same period being 5 million U.S. dollars. The company is 100% owned by the Government of the Republic of South Africa.