Denel Aviation AH-2 Rooivalk
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| AH-2A Rooivalk | ||
|---|---|---|
 Denel Aviation AH-2A Rooivalk. | ||
| Description | ||
| Role: attack helicopter | ||
| Crew: 2 in tandem (pilot and weapon systems officer) | ||
| Dimensions | ||
| Length: 18,731.64 mm (main rotor to tail rotor) | ||
| Fuselage length: 16.39 m | ||
| Height: 5.19 m | ||
| Rotor diameter: 15.58 m | ||
| Weights | ||
| Empty: 5,190 kg | ||
| Maximum internal fuel: 1,469 kg | ||
| Maximum take-off: 8,750 kg | ||
| Powerplant | ||
| Engines: 2 x Makila 1K2 turboshaft | ||
| Power: 1,716 kW (sea-level ISA) 30 s rating | ||
| Performance | ||
| Maximum speed: 309 km/h | ||
| Combat range (internal fuel): 700 km | ||
| Ferry range (external fuel): 1130 km | ||
| Service ceiling: 20,000 ft | ||
| Maximum rate of climb: 13.3 m/s (twin-engined) | ||
| Armament | ||
| Gun: 1 x 20 mm F2 dual-feed gas-operated cannon (400 or 700 high-velocity rounds) | ||
| Missiles: Includes 8 or 16 x Mokopa ZT-6 long-range anti-armour missiles, 4 x MBDA Mistral Atam air-to-air missiles, 36 or 72 x 70 mm folding fin aerial rockets (FFAR) | ||
The Denel Aviation AH-2 Rooivalk is a latest generation attack helicopter manufactured by Denel Aviation of South Africa. The name of the helicopter derives from the Afrikaans word for "Red Falcon".
The South African Air Force (SAAF) has ordered 12 Rooivalk AH-2As, the first of which entered service in July 1999. The helicopters are flown by 16 Squadron, which is based at AFB Bloemspruit near Bloemfontein.
Due to the SAAF's decades of helicopter experience in the harsh African environment, the Rooivalk has been designed to operate in very basic surroundings for prolonged periods without sophisticated support. All that is needed to keep the Rooivalk flying is a medium transport helicopter equipped with a basic spares supply plus four groundcrew.
Notable features include a tandem cockpit, starboard tail rotor with a port tail plane, and a fixed wheeled undercarriage.
By April 2005, only six of 12 the aircraft were currently flying with the others in need for software upgrades. The South African Air Force Chief hoped that the helicopters would be ready around June 2007, indicating 'extremely worrying factor of time that the project was taking to reach maturity', attributing the delays to the brain drain from the producer company as well as its financial problems, forcing the nation's airforce to assess alternative defense development partners (see link).
Missions
The following types of missions are foreseen for the AH-2 Rooivalk:
- Reconnaissance
- Heliborne escort
- Close air support
- Deep penetration
- Anti-armour
Operators
- South Africa.
External links
- [Denel Aviation Official Rooivalk Site]
- [Aircraft.co.za - The Complete Aviation Reference]
- [Rooivalk delivery problems]
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