The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Denel have joined forces to expand their collaboration in research and technology projects, including joint product development.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed today between Denel and the CSIR. The agreement will form the basis for “a closer technology alliance” between the two organisations.

The Denel Group CEO, Riaz Saloojee, says the agreement provides a framework for deeper collaboration on research and development which should benefit the development of future advanced manufacturing technologies.

“The CSIR is the leading technology research organisation in Africa with a global reputation for the quality of its R&D,” says Saloojee. “By joining forces we will ensure that the South African defence and aerospace industry remains at the leading edge of international trends and developments.”

The partnership also fits into Denel’s strategic intention to be a driver of innovation in technology and to partner with other companies and organisations to build these capabilities within South Africa.

Dr Sibusiso Sibisi, the CEO of the CSIR, says Denel’s role as a designer and manufacturer of world-class aerospace defence and security products makes it a natural technology partner for the CSIR.

“We are delighted to extend our long-term relationship with Denel and to jointly move into exciting new areas that will contribute to South Africa’s broader objectives regarding innovation, skills development and technology transfer,” he says.

The CSIR’s multidisciplinary R&D expertise enables it to combine a diverse range of skills to provide comprehensive innovation solutions. “Ultimately, our work promotes scientific development and stimulates industrial growth for the betterment of our society and economy. We pursue these goals in partnership with other public and private sector institutions,” Dr Sibisi says. 

In terms of the agreement, the two organisations will work together on a wide range of projects including exploring further collaboration in advanced manufacturing, systems engineering, modelling and simulation, unmanned systems, space engineering and protected landward mobility and firepower.

Bilateral committees will be established to execute the projects whilst a joint steering group will oversee issues relating to market intelligence and intellectual property. One of the intentions of the partnership is to collaborate in international markets through the joint marketing of skills and products.

Saloojee says the partnership will involve all of Denel’s divisions in the aerospace, landward defence, missile and unmanned aerial vehicle sectors. In the last financial year, total R&D funding in Denel amounted to R528m and the group intends to increase R&D spend significantly through its innovation drive. “Working together with the CSIR we will be pooling our resources and sharing existing information and the vast experience that already exists within these two organisations. This is a great opportunity to unlock this value to the greater benefit of South African industry,” he says.

Although Denel specialises in defence and aerospace products and solutions many of its research projects are benefitting broader society and South Africa’s developmental objectives in terms of job creation and skills development. 

Spin-off technology from defence industry research is contributing to efforts to combat rhino poaching and drug smuggling; to support border control and nature conservation projects; to improve efficiencies in the mining industry, nuclear energy, electric vehicle design and South Africa’s emerging space industry.

Saloojee says the new partnership should also lead to a surge of interest amongst young scientists and engineers in the aerospace and defence sectors. “We want to attract the best and brightest of South Africa’s young minds into this industry and provide them with exciting opportunities to conduct state-of-the-art research,” he says.