South Africa: An overview of the defence industry

Abstract

The South African defence industry is one of the largest in the developing world. Its development and expansion have been influenced by a number of factors—strategic, political and economic. In the post‐apartheid era, one of the main debates has been on the value and future of a local defence industry. With the decrease in the possibility of an external threat, the necessity of maintaining the defence industry has been questioned. Between 1989 and 1994, substantial cuts in defence expenditure were implemented in South Africa. As a result, the defence industry was forced to downsize and restructure. The strategy of rationalisation and restructuring after 1992 was based on the desire to remain in the market but to shrink to fit the declining domestic defence market. This article reviews the South African defence industry, which is in the throes of restructuring and suggests that it has led to a down scaled defence industry.