DENEL OVERBERG TEST RANGE - NEW NAME, SAME REPUTATION FOR EXCELLENCE
04 Apr 2011
Denel’s versatile test range for missiles and aircraft systems on the southern tip of Africa is changing its name – but its global reputation as a high-tech facility for in-flight-testing will not be affected.
From 1 April it will be known as the Denel Overberg Test Range, emphasizing through its new branding its relationship with South Africa’s leading defence and aerospace group. The Test Range will continue to provide specialized in-flight systems performance measurement services to its growing clientele in the local as well as international aerospace industries.
“The new name also reflects our deep roots in the southern Cape where we have helped to build the reputation of the Overberg since we started our operations in the mid eighties,” says Abrie van der Walt, the CEO of Denel Overberg Test Range.
Over the past two decades the Test Range has become a well-known venue for the in-flight performance measurements on sophisticated missiles and aircraft systems. While the South African Department of Defence remains its primary client, services are also rendered to clients in the local defence industry as well as international clients in especially Europe and the Far East. On average about 45% of the Test Range’s income is currently derived from international sales.
As an independently operated business entity the Test Range prides in providing an independent, impartial, confidential and cost-effective service to all its clients. The experience gained during hundreds of tests enables the Test Range to assist clients during the development of these systems, their qualification and certification, and finally their commissioning into service. Hardly surprising therefore, that various clients from local and international defence forces and defence industries have opted to test its sophisticated weapon systems at Denel Overberg Test Range. These include the Taurus KEPD-350 stand-off missile, the Storm Shadow stand-off missile, the IRIS-T, Starstreak and Mistral air defence missiles, the Umkhonto surface-to-surface missiles and Denel Dynamics’ A-Darter fourth generation air-to-air missile, to name a few.
Denel Overberg Test Range has the capacity to manage and execute any combination of air, ground and sea flight tests, with quality assurance and performance verification services. With its focus mainly on evaluation of flight performance rather than the destructive power of weapons, the vast majority of firings are performed with inert warheads and/or telemetry packs. The Test Range’s array of measuring systems, sophisticated support facilities, experienced personnel and unique location make it one of the best equipped and effective test ranges available today.
Since 2003 the Range also provides mobile telemetry support to space launch missions at remote sites. Testimony to its successes in this arena is a five year contract signed in September 2010 with the French Space Agency, CNES, to provide telemetry tracking support for space launches such as the “Johannes Kepler mission” that carried supplies to the International Space Station.
The Denel Overberg Test Range is situated on the south-eastern coast of the Western Cape between Waenhuiskrans and Cape Infanta and forms part of the Greater De Hoop Conservation Area, well-known for its scenic beauty and diversity of ecosystems and one of the few relatively untouched nature areas remaining along the South African south coast.
“Through the years we have proven that we can conduct weapon systems testing in an ecologically sensitive area without causing harm to the environment,” says Mr Van der Walt. . Underlying the Test Range’s success story is its commitment to delivering quality service while remaining sensitive to its unique environment. This resulted in the Test Range receiving ISO 9000 certification in July 1998, followed by an ISO 14001 certification of its Environmental Management System in October 2000.
“We also contribute to the local economy through job creation and participation in community projects. With its new name Denel Overberg Test Range will continue to be a proudly South African company providing world-class services in a high-tech environment,” concludes Mr Van der Walt.
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