RRS providing maintenance support services for Thutlwa

04 July 2011  by defenceWeb

The South African Army has awarded Reutech Radar Systems of Stellenbosch a R7.763 million contract to provide maintenance support services for the Air Defence Artillery's three mobile battery fire control post systems. The contract, awarded yesterday, takes known spending on the on the ESR 220 Thutlwa (ex-Kameelperd, Giraffe) to R17 111 153 since 2007.

Four of the systems were ordered in 1996 under Project Bioskoop and delivered by 2006. The ESR220 Kameelperd system is described as a highly mobile solid state L-band 2D surveillance radar designed to provide early warning to air defence artillery troops in the field. It is a fully autonomous armoured system with self-contained power plant packaged on a Spanish-designed Kynos Aljaba 8x8 (“Skimmel” in SANDF parlance) truck, and is capable of being fully operational within 10 minutes of arrival at the deployment site.

The system also provides for a combined air picture derived from primary radar and IFF (identification, friend or foe), as well as a command and control system for effective air defence control. “The high mobility nature of the system, which is transported on an all-terrain 8x8 transporter, coupled to the battlefield-specific local warning sensor design, make the system a pivotal element of the South African Army Ground-based Air Defence System,” RRS says in a sales brochure. It is said to be able to track up to 100 targets simultaneously to a range of 120km. The mast is 12m tall.

The system currently provides local warning, command and fire control to the ADA's 30 GDF 05 L90 twin 35mm towed cannon.

Maintenance support services of three mobile battery fire control post systems for the SA Army

EBEB/2010/389 30 Jun 2011 R7 763 325,00 Reutech Radar Systems

Maintenance support services of three mobile battery fire control post system for the SA Army - extension of EBEB/2007/534

BEB/S2010/2393 9 Sep 2010 R369 200,00 Reutech Radar Systems

Maintenance of Kameelperd client furnished equipment provided for the local warning troop head quater battery fire control post of local warning system programme

EBEB/2007/617 20 Nov 2008 R1 628 920,00 Reutech Radar Systems

Maintenance and support services of three mobile battery fire control post systems

EBEB/2007/534 10 Jul 2008 R5 454 170,00 Reutech Radar Systems

Maintenance support services of the mobile battery fire control systems for the SA Army - extension of EBEB/2006/17

BEB/S2007/2153 6 Dec 2007 R936 568,00 Reutech Radar Systems

BEB/S2007/2144 16 Nov 2007 R907 625,00 Reutech Radar Systems

Customer furnished equipment preparation of the fire control post - extension of EBEB/2005/270

BEB/S2006/2089 22 Feb 2007 R51 345,68 Reutech Radar Systems