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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 ofDenel SOC LTD, located inBenoni, Gauteng.
TheOMC segment of the name is theinitialism under which theOlifant Manufacturing Co. ofSouth Africa was most commonly known during its existence. The original company was established specifically for the task of creating theOlifant tank for theSouth African Army.
OMC's existence as an independent company was short-lived however, and early into its life it was taken over by Reunert, which subsequently turned it into a division calledReumech OMC. It was under this name that OMC saw its most prolific level of vehicle development, as combat operations during theAngolan Bush War necessitated a greater need for vehicle systems capable of being integrated with the very swift, flexible, operational style of theSouth African Defence Force. In 1997, Reunert inheritedTFM Industries and its respective designs.
Vehicles manufactured by the company during this period include theRooikat andElandarmoured cars and the 6x6 chassis used by theG6 howitzer, in addition to South Africa's highly successfulOkapi,Mamba, andCasspirMRAParmoured personnel carriers.
Following South Africa's re admittance to the international arena following democratic elections in 1994, a number of foreign defence industry companies expressed significant interest in purchasing the company. Eventually it wasBritain'sVickers plc that won, purchasing the company and renaming itVickers OMC.
This continued untilAlvis, also of Britain, purchased Vickers' defence division, including OMC. Continuing with tradition, Alvis renamed the company toAlvis OMC.
In 2004, BAE Systems purchased the military vehicle division of Alvis. OMC then became part of BAE Systems' Land Systems, again undergoing a name change toLand Systems OMC and later to BAE Systems Land Systems South Africa.
In April 2015, state-owned defence conglomerateDenel completed the acquisition of Land Systems South Africa (LSSA) fromBAE Systems and DGD Technologies. Denel took over BAE's 75% stake for R641 million ($53 million). Full ownership cost Denel R855 million as the purchase included DGD Technologies' 25% share.[1]
OMC vehicles were developed for and successfully deployed inAngola andNamibia during theSouth African Border War. This harsh environment demanded good mobility as well as protection againstanti-tank mines. TheCasspir APC pioneered technology such as specially welded and shaped hulls to provide protection against mines.
OMC's modern armoured personnel carriers are popular with most international peace keeping forces, because of the level of mine-protection offered as well as the ease of maintenance and manoeuvrability of wheeled APCs.
Countries and organizations using these vehicles includeSouth Africa,Canada, theUnited Nations,United States,Sweden andBlackwater Security amongst others.
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