Paramount Group, The New Leader Of The South African Defence Industry

Paramount Group was founded by African industrialist and businessman Ivor Ichikowitz in 1994 during South Africa’s transition. Over a 23-year period, Paramount has established itself as Africa’s largest independently-owned defence and aerospace business. At the onset of the new millennium, Paramount experienced a shift becoming a prime contractor selling surplus South African National Defence Force (SANDF) equipment. Fast-forward six years and we see the business delve into innovation by developing and launching the Marauder (armoured vehicle) in addition to acquiring a fleet of Mirage F1s from the South African Air Force (SAAF). Over the next few years, Paramount expanded into combat systems launching the Matador and Maverick armoured vehicles. More recent innovations include the Mbombe 6X6 in 2010, a high level ballistic and mine protected vehicle with a flat bottom hull. The Mbombe 6X6 was selected by the Jordanian Armed Forces in February 2015. The Mbombe series has continued to evolve with the launch of the Mbombe 8X8 in 2016.

Written by Sylvia Caravotas (Satovarac Consulting) for OIDA. The full article is available from OIDA.