Sandock-Austral was a South African defence company formed through the 1971 merger of the Austral armaments company and Sandock Ltd dockyards, as a subsidiary of the

Gencor Gencor Ltd was a South African based mining company. It was formed in 1980 after the merger of the General Mining and Finance Corporation and the Union Corporation. Parts of the company are now owned by Gold Fields and BHP. History Gencor has it ...

mining group. The company was absorbed into

Land Systems OMC Land Systems OMC is a South African company that produces a range of armoured vehicles which have been successfully exported and are in service with, amongst others, the U.S., Canadian and South African militaries. It is a division of Denel SOC LT ...

, part of

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...

. Sandock-Austral has developed a number of notable products, such as: * The ''

Ratel The honey badger (''Mellivora capensis''), also known as the ratel ( or ), is a mammal widely distributed in Africa, Southwest Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Because of its wide range and occurrence in a variety of habitats, it is listed a ...

'' infantry fighting vehicle. * The '' Eland Mk2'' armoured car. * '' Mamba Mk2'' and ''Romad'' series of mine-protected armoured personnel carriers. It was also responsible for the construction of the ''

SAS Drakensberg SAS ''Drakensberg'' (A301) is a fleet replenishment ship (AOR) of the South African Navy (SAN), with the primary role of assisting and supporting the SAN's combat vessels at sea. Built by the (now defunct) Sandock Austral shipyard in Durban, i ...

'', South Africa's most sophisticated indigenous warship.

References

* Government-owned companies of South Africa Defence companies of South Africa Defunct companies of South Africa {{SouthAfrica-mil-stub