Land-based Umkhonto fired for the first time

Denel Dynamics, the guided weapons division of South Africa's Denel, carried out the first live-fire tests of the land-based version of its Umkhonto naval surface-to-air missile (SAM) between 1 and 3 October.

The tests also saw an Umkhonto-IR destroy a target at 20 km for the first time, a feat achieved after recent modifications to the Block 2 variant, and the first use of Reutech Radar Systems' new RSR-320 dual-band, 3D radar to provide mid-course guidance for the missiles.

Observers from nine countries joined South African defence and military officials at Denel's Overberg Test Range for the shoot. All three war-shot missiles scored kills on Low-Cost Aerial Target Systems (LOCATS), two at 15 km range and one at 20 km.

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