Militêre Krygstuig Korporasie

Militêre Krygstuig Korporasie van Oranje Vrystaat (Milkryg or MilKryg), (in English: Military Armaments Corporation of Orange Free State) is a Orange Free State government-supported weapon-producing conglomerate that was officially established in 1956, primarily as a response to the international sanctions by the United Nations against Orange Free State and South Africa.

Since its establishment, Orange Free State relied heavily on arms imports. Its main import partners were those of South Africa. However, after South Africa’s withdrawal from the Commonwealth in 1961, and the imposition of a voluntary United Nations arms embargo in 1963, provided the impetus for a shift towards the establishment of a domestic arms industry. The Military Armaments Corporation (Milkryg) has already been established in 1926 to control the procurement and supply of all armaments for the Orange Free State Defence Forces. The Milkryg bought the military vehicle division of the Free State Motor works, and also took over the Ministry of Defence’s workshops, and was authorised to co-ordinate arms production in the private sector. By the mid-1960s, several hundred private sector firms were involved in various aspects of domestic arms production.

In 1967, the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling on all states to stop supplying arms to South Africa and Orange Free State. Over the next few years, Milkryg took over various private sector companies and established a number of new production and R&D facilities. In 1973, the government of Orange Free State established the Verdedigings Adviserende Raad, VAR, (Defence Advisory Council) to further co-ordinate the private sector’s involvement in domestic arms production.