New Cameroonian air-defence capabilities revealed

Cameroonian military sources have revealed details of the recent improvements in the country’s air-defence capabilities.

Sichuan Military Electronics Industries Group Company (SEMIC) 825 towed fire-control radars were seen being paraded for the first time on 20 May 2015 in Yaoundé. They were paraded alongside what appeared to be Oerlikon Contraves (now Rheinmetall) 35 mm GDF anti-aircraft guns that Cameroon has had in its inventory since the 1980s.

A Cameroonian Defence Forces (CDF) source told IHS Jane’s that the SEMIC 825s were part of a major package of Chinese military equipment that was agreed in 2012 and financed by a XAF2 billion (approximately USD340 million) loan from China’s Eximbank.

That package included a batch of NORINCO PG99 (Type 90) anti-aircraft guns (the Chinese version of the GDF) and FN-16 manportable air-defence systems (MANPADS), as well as the fire-control radars. The source declined to reveal the numbers involved.

The SEMIC 825 performs the same role as the Skyguard fire-control radar that is often used with GDF guns. The source said it can acquire targets at a range of up to 40 km, track them at a maximum distance of 32 km, and identify them at ranges of up to 6 km.

The FN-16 can engage targets at a maximum altitude of 4,000 m and maximum range of 6 km, according to the documentation released by China’s Poly Technologies. The missile uses what is described as an “infrared/ultraviolet two-colour quasi-imaging seeker” in addition to a laser proximity fuze.

The equipment was delivered in 2013 to the Surface-to-Air Artillery Regiment (RASA): the Cameroonian Army’s dedicated anti-aircraft unit based at Edéa.

Following the delivery the RASA has been reorganised into one command battery, one training battery, two PG99 batteries, one MANPADS battery, and one vehicle-borne surface-to-air missile (SAM) battery, which has not been activated as its weapon systems have yet to be delivered.