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Armscor (South Africa)
Armscor (stylized as ARMSCOR), the Armaments Corporation of South Africa is the arms procurement agency of the South African Department of Defence. It was originally established in 1968 as an arms production company, primarily as a response to the international sanctions by the United Nations against South Africa due to apartheid which began in 1963 and were formalised in 1977. History Until the 1970s, South Africa's apartheid government had placed a disproportionate emphasis on civilian law enforcement and the maintenance of internal security. However, a Cuban intervention in Angola, and the escalation of the South African Border War convinced the government that it faced a serious external threat. In 1978, the premiership was accepted by PW Botha, a former South African security chief, and defence expenditure spiraled upwards. Armscor, then a relatively new entity, was charged with modernising the arsenal of the South African Defence Force (SADF). This was a difficult task, as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pretoria
Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foothills of the Magaliesberg mountains. It has a reputation as an academic city and center of research, being home to the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), the University of Pretoria (UP), the University of South Africa (UNISA), the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and the Human Sciences Research Council. It also hosts the National Research Foundation (South Africa), National Research Foundation and the South African Bureau of Standards. Pretoria was one of the host cities of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Pretoria is the central part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality which was formed by the amalgamation of several former local authorities, including Bronkhorstspruit, Centurion, Gaute ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Centurion Tank
The Centurion was the primary British Army main battle tank of the post-World War II period. Introduced in 1945, it is widely considered to be one of the most successful post-war tank designs, remaining in production into the 1960s, and seeing combat into the 1980s. The chassis was adapted for several other roles, and these variants have remained in service. It was a very popular tank with good armour, manoeuvrability, and armament. Development of the Centurion began in 1943 with manufacture beginning in January 1945. Six prototypes arrived in Belgium less than a month after the war in Europe ended in May 1945. It entered combat with the British Army in the Korean War in 1950 in support of the UN forces. The Centurion later served on the Indian side in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, where it fought against US-supplied M47 and M48 Patton tanks, and it served with the Royal Australian Armoured Corps in the Vietnam War. Israel's army used Centurions in the 1967 Six-Day War, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African National Congress
The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, first post-apartheid election installed Nelson Mandela as President of South Africa. Cyril Ramaphosa, the incumbent national President, has served as President of the ANC since 18 December 2017. Founded on 8 January 1912 in Bloemfontein as the South African Native National Congress (SANNC), the organisation was formed to agitate, by moderate methods, for the rights of black South Africans. When the National Party (South Africa), National Party government came to power 1948 South African general election, in 1948, the ANC's central purpose became to oppose the new government's policy of institutionalised apartheid. To this end, its methods and means of organisation shifted; its adoption of the techn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sharpeville Massacre
The Sharpeville massacre occurred on 21 March 1960 at the police station in the township of Sharpeville in the then Transvaal Province of the then Union of South Africa (today part of Gauteng). After demonstrating against pass laws, a crowd of about 7,000 protesters went to the police station. Sources disagree as to the behaviour of the crowd: some state that the crowd was peaceful, while others state that the crowd had been hurling stones at the police and that the mood had turned "ugly". The South African Police (SAP) opened fire on the crowd when the crowd started advancing toward the fence around the police station; tear-gas had proved ineffectual. There were 249 victims in total, including 29 children, with 69 people killed and 180 injured. Some were shot in the back as they fled. The massacre was photographed by photographer Ian Berry, who initially thought the police were firing blanks. In present-day South Africa, 21 March is celebrated as a public holiday in honour of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two North American. Established in the aftermath of World War II, the organization implemented the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949. NATO is a collective security system: its independent member states agree to defend each other against attacks by third parties. During the Cold War, NATO operated as a check on the perceived threat posed by the Soviet Union. The alliance remained in place after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and has been involved in military operations in the Balkans, the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. The organization's motto is ''animus in consulendo liber'' (Latin for "a mind unfettered in deliberation"). NATO's main headquarters are located in Brussels, Belgium, while NATO ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panhard AML
The Panhard AML (''Auto Mitrailleuse Légère'', or "Light Machine Gun Car") is an Armored car (military), armoured car with reconnaissance capability. Designed on a lightly armoured Four-wheel drive, 4×4 chassis, it weighs an estimated 5.5 tonnes, and is thus suitable for airborne deployment. Since 1959, AMLs have been marketed on up to five continents; several variants remained in continuous production for half a century. These have been operated by fifty-four national governments and other entities worldwide, seeing regular combat. The AML-245 was once regarded as one of the most heavily armed scout vehicles in service, fitted with a low velocity Nexter, DEFA D921 90 mm (3.54 in) rifled cannon firing conventional Shell (projectile)#HE-Frag, high explosive and High-explosive anti-tank warhead, high explosive anti-tank shells, or a 60 mm (2.36 in) Brandt Mle CM60A1, breech loading mortar with 53 rounds and dual 7.5mm AA-52 machine gun, MAS AA-52 NF-1 machine g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eland Mk7
The Eland is an air portable light armoured car based on the Panhard AML. Designed and built for long-range reconnaissance, it mounts either a 60mm (2.4 in) breech-loading mortar or a Denel 90mm (3.5 in) gun on a very compact chassis. Although lightly armoured, the vehicle's permanent 4X4 drive makes it faster over flat terrain than many tanks. Eland was developed for the South African Defence Force (SADF) in South Africa's first major arms programme since World War II, with prototypes completed in 1963. By 1991, 1,600 examples had been built for home and export; prominent foreign operators included Morocco and Zimbabwe. Local overhauls incorporating lessons from internal operations have resulted in a vehicle capable of withstanding the unforgiving Southern African environment and highly mobile operational style of the SADF. Development history Background For many years the standard armoured car of the South African Defence Force was the Daimler Ferret, which was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ratel IFV
The Ratel is a South African infantry fighting vehicle. It was the first wheeled infantry fighting vehicle to enter service worldwide and was built on a modified MAN truck chassis. The Ratel was designed in response to a South African Army specification for a light armoured vehicle suited to the demands of rapid offensives, providing maximum firepower and strategic mobility to mechanised infantry units intended to operate across the vast distances of Southern Africa. Primarily envisaged in SADF doctrine as a vehicle for that could deliver mechanised infantry and supporting fire to tanks in conventional warfare, it was also anticipated that the Ratel could form the centrepiece for semi-independent battlegroups where logistics or politics precluded the use of tanks. The Ratel was a simple, economical design which helped reduce the significant logistical commitment necessary to keep heavier combat vehicles operational in undeveloped regions. It was generally regarded as an influentia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berliet VXB
The Berliet VXB-170 is a four-wheel armoured vehicle used primarily as an internal security vehicle. Developed and initially produced by Berliet until Berliet was merged with Saviem to form Renault Trucks (now Arquus), it lost to the Saviem VAB the competition to equip the French Army, even though it was cheaper than its competitor. Production stopped after fewer than 200 vehicles had been produced. Its main user, the French National Gendarmerie, calls it ''Véhicule blindé à roues de la Gendarmerie'' ("Gendarmerie wheeled armoured vehicle") or VBRG. Design history Designed in the late 1960s under a project maximizing the use of heavy truck components of the Berliet brand in combat vehicles, the VXB 170 (for 170 cv) entered production at the Berliet Bourg-en-Bresse plant. It was selected in 1972 by the French Gendarmerie but it lost out to the Saviem VAB the competition for equipment of the French Army and, following the merger of Berliet and Saviem under the Renault brand ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Armoured Personnel Carrier
An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. According to the definition in the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, an APC is "an armoured combat vehicle which is designed and equipped to transport a combat infantry squad and which, as a rule, is armed with an integral or organic weapon of less than 20 millimetres calibre." Compared to infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), which are also used to carry infantry into battle, APCs have less armament and are not designed to provide direct fire support in battle. Infantry units which travel in APCs are known as mechanized infantry. Some militaries also make a distinction between infantry units which use APCs and infantry units which use IFVs, with the latter being known as armoured infantry in such militaries. History The genesis o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
IAI Kfir
, abbreviated , is a Japanese martial art that emphasizes being aware and capable of quickly drawing the sword and responding to sudden attacks.Christensen, Karen and Allen Guttmann et.al (2001) ''International Encyclopedia of Women and Sports: H-R''. Macmillan Reference USA, Page 553. Iaido consists of four main components: the smooth, controlled movements of drawing the sword from its scabbard (or saya), striking or cutting an opponent, shaking blood from the blade, and replacing the sword in the scabbard.John Nauright, Charles Parrish, edited (2012) ''Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice''. ABC-CLIO. Page 226. While beginning practitioners of iaido may start learning with a wooden sword (''bokken'') depending on the teaching style of a particular instructor, most of the practitioners use a blunt-edged sword called an iaitō or ''mogitō''.Armstrong, Hunter B. (1995) ''The koryu Bujutsu Experience'' in Koryu Bujutsu: Classical Warrior Traditions of Japan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mirage III
The Dassault Mirage III () is a family of single/dual-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company Dassault Aviation. It was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in horizontal flight,"Mirage III." ''Dassault Aviation'', 18 December 2015. a feat which was achieved on 24 October 1958. In 1952, the French government issued its specification, calling for a , all-weather |
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