Stellenbosch-based EDH is one of a small number of companies globally to specialise in muzzle velocity radar systems, supplying customers around the world as well as locally to users such as the SA National Defence Force, weapon and ammunition manufacturers, and test ranges.
Established in 1989, EDH developed and started to manufacture its own line of Doppler radar instruments for muzzle velocity and short-range ballistics measurement.
EDH manufactures Doppler radars for both tactical application as well as for testing purposes. EDH manager Amos Brunner explained that tactical measurement means that muzzle velocity is measured by a gun-mounted instrument during firing, providing direct shot-by-shot feedback to the fire control system, resulting in significant improvement in the gun’s range accuracy.
Test applications on the other hand include the testing and proofing of weapons, ammunition, and propellants, as well as for ballistic and forensic purposes, of all calibres. Doppler radars are found as standard equipment on test ranges such as Armscor’s Alkantpan facility in the Northern Cape, and Denel’s Overberg Test Range (OTR). EDH’s radar was used during Rheinmetall Denel Munitions’ record 2019 artillery shot at Alkantpan, which saw a 155 mm round fired out to more than 76 km.
EDH launched its first muzzle velocity radar in 1989 and primarily serves the export market, having sold products to customers in more than 30 countries worldwide over the last three decades.
According to EDH director Tom Johnson, EDH is one of only half a dozen companies globally that designs and manufactures specialist muzzle velocity radar systems, and has been doing this entirely through self-funding. Johnson said that this local capability is not widely known in South Africa and as a result some companies have – unnecessarily – shopped for such technology outside of South Africa.
“What we’ve achieved with Doppler radar technology is a mini success story for South African innovation, engineering, and manufacturing,” Johnson said. The products are entirely locally manufactured and “there is something to be proud of as South Africans, as it projects local technological expertise while earning foreign income and sustaining job opportunities in-house as well as at several of our long-standing local subcontractors”.
With the business doing well, EDH is looking to expand further, particularly in Europe and the Americas, and is aiming to grow its staff complement particularly on the engineering side.
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