South Africa’s defence giant sells off surplus military hardware

South Africa – South Africa’s state-owned Armaments Corporation of South Africa (Armscor) has stepped up the disposal of obsolete and surplus military equipment, including retired aircraft, ammunition, vehicles and armoured police vehicles.

According to Daily Investor, the sales form part of a structured disposal programme aimed at generating revenue from defence assets that are either obsolete or have been out of service for extended periods.

Armscor is the government’s defence procurement and acquisition agency and is responsible for managing the disposal of surplus defence matériel on behalf of the Department of Defence.

The corporation’s 2024/25 annual report confirms that its Defence Disposal Solutions unit handles the disposal of Category 1 defence matériel, including aircraft, spare parts, naval vessels, land and air-based equipment and ammunition exceeding 12.7mm in calibre. The process is subject to approval and regulatory controls involving the National Conventional Arms Control Committee and the Non-Proliferation Council.

Assets and liabilities

The disposal programme has already generated income. Daily Investor reported that Armscor recorded a R10.27 million gain from the disposal of assets and liabilities in the financial year ended March 2026. The organisation said a large number of assets had accumulated after becoming obsolete or remaining unused for long periods.

Armscor’s official tender records show the scale of the exercise. In 2026, it advertised the sale of obsolete armoured and protective equipment, while another tender involved the disposal of unserviceable aircraft components, IT equipment and scrap metal. It also advertised the destruction of boarded South African Police Service armoured vehicles through a “CUT & MELT” process.

Armscor says its Defence Disposal Solutions unit is responsible for the “compliant disposal of excess and obsolete defence matériel” on behalf of the Department of Defence, with disposal operations conducted under national regulatory requirements.

The asset sales come as South Africa’s defence industry continues to grapple with financial and operational pressures. Related reporting by MyBroadband found that the Department of Defence blocked a proposed R1 billion disposal of Denel non-core assets, with Denel CEO Tsepo Monaheng saying the company had been unable to dispose of the assets because the department considered them strategically important.

Equipment and infrastructure

“We were not able to dispose of those assets because the DoD didn’t support the disposal of non-core assets,” Monaheng said.

At the same time, the defence sector retains significant industrial capabilities. DefenceWeb reported in May that Denel was pursuing an opportunity pipeline worth more than R53 billion, covering missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, artillery systems and other defence technologies.

The disposal programme therefore reflects not simply the sale of old equipment, but a broader effort to manage South Africa’s ageing defence assets while extracting value from equipment and infrastructure that is no longer required.

Armscor’s annual report said its disposal unit finalised 30 transactions during the 2024/25 financial year, with the proceeds transferred to the Department of Defence’s Special Defence Account.