---
category: Private Organization
location: Pretoria, South Africa
start: 1968
summary: ARMSCOR (South African Arms Corporation) is South Africa's state weapons
  manufacturer that played a significant role in covert Cold War arms trafficking
  through its dealings with Carlos Cardoen, Gerald Bull, and Israeli defense contractors
  under apartheid-era sanctions evasion arrangements.
tags:
- Organization
- Private
- SouthAfrica
- ArmsManufacturer
---

[ARMSCOR](/organizations/armscor/) (South African Arms Corporation) is the government weapons manufacturer of [South Africa](/places/south-africa/). It played a significant role in the international arms trade, particularly in its dealings with [Carlos Cardoen](/people/carlos-cardoen/) and [Gerald Bull](/people/gerald-bull/), and its involvement in supplying [Iraq](/places/iraq/).[^1]

In 1979, [Carlos Cardoen](/people/carlos-cardoen/) obtained a brokering license from [ARMSCOR](/organizations/armscor/) after being rejected by [Israel](/places/israel/). This allowed him to begin his work as an arms producer and broker.[^1]

[ARMSCOR](/organizations/armscor/) collaborated with [Cardoen](/people/carlos-cardoen/) in selling arms to [Iraq](/places/iraq/). [Alan Sanders](/people/alan-sanders/) of [ITICO](/organizations/itico/) provided technology for cluster bombs to Cardoen, which were then produced with a covert [U.S.](/places/united-states/) license.[^1]

In 1983, [ARMSCOR](/organizations/armscor/) contracted [Gerald Bull](/people/gerald-bull/) for his "supergun" artillery project, following an introduction by [Mark Thatcher](/people/mark-thatcher/) and [Gen. Pieter Van Der Westhuizen](/people/pieter-van-der-westhuizen/), chief of [South African Defense Force](/organizations/south-african-defense-force/).[^1]

[ARMSCOR](/organizations/armscor/) was represented at a meeting in [Santiago](/places/santiago/), [Chile](/places/chile/), in late 1986, where [U.S.](/places/united-states/) officials, including [Robert Gates](/people/robert-gates/), reaffirmed their intention to maintain arms channels to [Iraq](/places/iraq/) through [South Africa](/places/south-africa/) and [Chile](/places/chile/).[^1]

In late 1988, [Gen. Pieter Van Der Westhuizen](/people/pieter-van-der-westhuizen/) informed [Ari Ben-Menashe](/people/ari-ben-menashe/) that [South Africa](/places/south-africa/) had stopped the flow of technology to [Iraq](/places/iraq/), claiming it was due to a decision to resume nuclear cooperation with [Israel](/places/israel/). However, [Israeli](/places/israel/) intelligence later confirmed that while [South Africa](/places/south-africa/) was not directly dealing with [Iraq](/places/iraq/), it was involved with [Chile](/places/chile/), which continued to supply [Iraq](/places/iraq/) through the [Cardoen](/people/carlos-cardoen/) network. The [CIA](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) reportedly used [ARMSCOR](/organizations/armscor/) to facilitate the transfer of nuclear technology to [Iraq](/places/iraq/).[^1]

[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992.