Yep. Just an armour filler plate to cover the flat, "bullet trap".
SA did not have the ability to develop and construct a MBT transmission (it's a pretty big deal). It did not need to either. The tank's Continental engines were imported (Israel?), and the transmissions could be sourced in the same way. The AMTRA transmission is most likely a slightly modified Allison CB-850 cross-drive unit. If not, it could be a ZF or Renk unit. The Ratel also uses a Renk transmission.
Do you have any more pictures or information about the Jais Mk. 2? Also, I've noticed some examples have armor plates over the side door next to the RWS. Does anyone have an idea as to the purpose of those? My first thought was that it provides cover for someone trying to reload the RWS through a roof hatch, but I'm not sure there is a hatch there with the RWS installed, and it doesn't seem like it's in the right position for that purpose.
www.defenceweb.co.za
Denel have other 8x8 hulls like the RG41 as well if the issues with the Badger is due to Patria rather than themselves.
I have a hard time seeing how it could be Patria. They haven't had an issue building AMVs, and Poland has built over a thousand Rosomaks without problems so it can't be technology transfer that's the issue. It has to be local, but whether that's at the governmental level, with management, or an inadequate workforce, or some of all of the above, or something or somethings else is an open question.
Got these off of FB - I wish all of the specs were shown in each photo. They came from an Armscor booklet titled 'Spes B' mine protected vehicles - clearly made during the Bush War time, exactly when, I don't know. I also noticed that some of the production figures weren't up to date.
