Denel Aerospace Systems

Denel Aerospace Systems, formerly Kentron, is a division of Denel (Pty) Ltd, a South African armaments development and manufacturing company wholly owned by the South African Government. It underwent the name change from Kentron during the early part of 2004. Denel Aerospace Systems is located in Centurion, South Africa.

Denel Aviation
Denel Aviation is a sub-division of Denel Aerospace Systems. Denel absorbed the previous Atlas Aircraft Corporation of South Africa (Atlas Aviation) that had been established in 1965.

Denel Aviation lists its three main functions as:

Airframe manufacturing
General manufacturing processes for component manufacture for Denel and third parties, aerostructure subassemblies, as well as assembly and integration of airframes.

Aerospace engineering
Structural and system design, testing, subsystems, aerodynamic design and analysis, weapons and stores integration, avionics system engineering and software development, electrical system design, mission planning, test and integration (ground testing and full flight testing).

Aircraft logistics
Integrated system support and product support for fixed and rotary wing transport and tactical aircraft; maintenance, conversions and assembly, component repair, laboratory/calibration services, aircraft painting and aircraft refurbishment/modernization.

UN arms embargo violation
Four South Africans working for Kentron were arrested in March 1984 in Coventry and charged with violation of the UN arms embargo – which outlawed the export of arms and military equipment to apartheid South Africa.

The Coventry Four were granted bail against a deposit of £200,000 and a guarantee by a diplomat from the South African embassy who waived his diplomatic immunity. They were allowed to return to South Africa on condition that they appeared at their trial in England in August 1984. In the event, South African foreign minister, Pik Botha, refused to allow them to return for their trial. Thus, the charges that Kentron personnel were involved in circumventing the UN arms embargo remain unproven.

Divisions
The following divisions form part of Denel (Pty) Ltd


 * Denel Aerospace Systems
 * Denel Land Systems Western Cape
 * Denel Optronics
 * Overberg Test Range
 * Pretoria Metal Pressings
 * Mechem
 * Denel Personnel Solutions

Related links

 * Overberg Test Range
 * Denel's R500m garage sale
 * Houwteq - a discontinued division of Denel