Armscor, the state-owned defence procurement agency, has been selling old military equipment on behalf of the Department of Defence, Daily Investor reported. The items include retired aircraft, old ammunition and armoured vehicles once used by the South African Police Service.
According to the report, most of the assets are obsolete or have been out of service for a long time. They are now being sold through a structured disposal programme.
For the year to March 2026, Armscor reported a gain of R10.27 million on the disposal of assets and liabilities. Daily Investor said the sales are seen as another way to earn money, as defence budgets keep shrinking.
The list of items for sale also covers vehicles, spare parts and obsolete defence systems. The police armoured vehicles were added later, when Armscor widened what it offers for disposal.
The programme started after a new board was appointed at Armscor in 2025. The board found that many assets had piled up and were either outdated or had not been used for long periods. It decided to deal with this by setting up a disposal programme, and the first few sales were made in the 2025/26 financial year.
In April 2025, the board set up an Investment and Deal-Making Committee. This committee advises the board on how to get more value from assets and reviews requests to dispose of them.
Armscor is allowed to sell this equipment under the Armscor Act of 2003, which came into effect in May 2006. In June 2025, the Department of Defence and Armscor also signed a rolling three-year service level agreement. The deal sets out how military equipment is managed over its life and how it is disposed of.
Armscor was founded in 1968, when South Africa faced international arms embargoes under apartheid. By 1992, it employed 30,000 people and supported about 100,000 workers at private contractors.
During those years it built and bought weapons such as the G5 and G6 long-range howitzers, the Ratel infantry combat vehicle and the Casspir. It also worked on the Rooivalk combat helicopter prototype.
In 1992, after the referendum to end apartheid, the government split Armscor in two. Its factories, research labs and intellectual property went to a new company, Denel. Armscor became an agency that handles buying, tenders, quality checks and strategic facilities for the Department of Defence.
Denel later ran short of cash during the State Capture era and failed to pay staff. Daily Investor said Armscor came through that period in better shape, though it lost much of its industrial skill.
Armscor is now profitable, but its yearly results swing a lot because of debt collection, credit loss provisions and impairments. Its surplus fell from R150.87 million in 2024/25 to R80.54 million in 2025/26, a drop of 46.62%.
Source: this article is based on reporting by Daily Investor. Image: Daily Investor. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Technology desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Werner Jacobs covers technology for Tzaneen Voice. Werner reports on mobile networks, data prices, internet access, smartphones, apps, AI, cybersecurity and South African tech companies. Each story explains what a new product, price change or policy means for ordinary users in South Africa.