Blindspot 69 - S-Africa 155mm Denel shells sold to NATO - Ukraine 2 bomb Russian 4ces w it?

Blindspot 69 - South African artillery munitions sold to undisclosed NATO nation - Will Ukraine bomb Russian forces with them?

Buiteboer // From Bunker 42
www.buiteboer.co.za
31/5/23

Since the joint naval exercise between China, Russia, and South Africa earlier this year, and the docking late 2022, of the Lady R - a Russian vessel, in Simon’s Town naval base, rhetoric and actions aimed at forcing the globalist / neocon logic of ‘Us vs Them’ - Russia vs US, on Africa and South Africa, by European and North American powers, has only intensified. They are saying - choose your sides, and here we don’t mean coleslaw or green salad!

By now even the SA Reserve Bank has entered the fray and warns in its latest Financial Stability Review of secondary sanctions imposed on South Africa, with the risk that it might be lobbed off the global financial platforms such as SWIFT (like Russia in 2022), if it does not dance to the war-tunes of conflict escalation and planetary division played by the policy musicians of Club Western World.

Since 2022, diplomatic and other actions have been pointing to a sharp increase in the jockeying for position by major powers to maintain, protect and expand their spheres of influence in Africa, while aiming to contain and counter-act influence of adversaries in this new Cold War. The US Senate bill on ‘Countering malign Russian influence in Africa Act’ (2022) is a classic example of this.

Today we address the question as to why there has only been an ‘outcry’ about a Russian naval vessel docking in Simon’s Town, and not also about the real possibility that South African manufactured munitions, including 155mm shells, sold to an undisclosed ‘NATO nation’ may end up being shot at Russian forces in Ukraine. The latter will of course undermine the South African stance of not providing or selling arms to nations involved in human rights abuses, or regional conflicts.

The story of how South African manufactured 155mm artillery munitions could potentially end up in Ukrainian Howitzer barrels start with Rheinmittal, a German arms manufacturer that is one of the largest and most prominent outcroppings of the European manifestation of the military-industrial complex.

I - 600-700K artillery shells from Rheinmittal to Ukraine

On 5 May 2023, Euromaidan Press covered the critical need for constant supply of artillery shells to Ukraine. In the article it indicates that

“The European Union has pledged to supply Ukraine with one million artillery shells annually to aid the country in defending against Russian aggression. However, the ammunition supply is running low due to intense fighting, prompting the EU to explore options to bridge the gap. Rheinmetall, already the largest Western ammunition manufacturer with an annual output of 450,000 shells, can expand its production to 600,000-700,000 artillery rounds per year.”

II - Rheinmittal Denel Munitions sale of 155mm shells to undisclosed NATO nation

To make things a bit more interesting, let us look at Rheinmittal South Africa, and a report concerning it selling 155mm shells to an un-named NATO member state.

On 2 January, 2023, Sarah Lesedi writes on the military.africa platform that,

“In August 2022, Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM) supplied 155mm ammunition from the Assegai product line to a NATO customer. Back in 2019, Rheinmetall succeeded in setting a new maximum range record in South Africa with the Assegai family and other Group products like the new Topcharge.

Both companies will focus on developing an enhanced range 155 mm artillery round fitted with an integrated M1156 precision guidance kit (PGK), as well as on developing a new 155 mm projectile with an improved integrated propulsion system.

Jointly owned by Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH (51%) of Germany and Denel (Pty) Ltd, Rheinmetall Denel Munition produces a wide variety of ammunition such as 155 mm artillery ammunition, 60, 81 and 120 mm mortars, 40 mm grenades and 76/62 mm Naval Rounds, aircraft bombs and mine breaching systems. Rheinmetall Denel Munition also builds ammunition filling plants for export and manufactures missile subsystems.”

So, here is the question Blindspot is asking - seeing that Rheinmittal Germany is aiming to produce and supply Ukraine with up to 700,000 155mm shells in coming years, what are the chances that the Rheinmittal Denel Munition supplied shells will not end up in the barrels of Howitzers pointed at Russian forces somewhere along the meat grinder frontlines of Ukraine?

Now we need to take a quick look at what the South African stance might be on such a sale. Seeing that a South African produced conventional arms product, might end up in a regional conflict. If that is the case, South Africa is in breach of its own laws, and established norms according to which it aims to control arms manufacturing and export from this country.

Why are South Africans shouting about the US ambassador’s allegation of arms sold to Russia via Lady R, and not also asking some probing questions about a South African SOE Denel, in partnership with Rheinmittal Waffe Munition, selling ammunition for conventional 155mm weapons, to an undisclosed NATO nation, with the inherent risk of trans-shipment to exotic Ukrainian shores?

Perhaps someone should launch a Public Access to Information Act request for disclosure of the exact NATO nation for which the export is destined!

Links

EM Jele. 2019. Overview of the South African conventional arms control system. 2 April, 2019. https://thearmstradetreaty.org/hyper-images/file/South%20Africa%20(02%20April%202019)/South%20Africa%20(02%20April%202019).pdf

Euromaidan Press. 2023. Rheinmittal plans to produce up to 600-700K rounds per year for Ukraine. 5 May, 2023. https://euromaidanpress.com/2023/05/05/rheinmetall-announced-plans-to-produce-up-to-600-700-thousand-rounds-per-year-for-ukraine/

Sarah Lesedi. 2023. RDM sells 155mm to NATO country. 2 January, 2023. https://www.military.africa/2023/01/rdm-sells-155mm-artillery-ammunition-to-nato-country/