Denel AH-2 Rooivalk

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AH-2 Rooivalk
Denel AH-2A Rooivalk
Type	Attack helicopter
Manufacturer	Denel Aerospace Systems
Status	Active service
Primary user	South African Air Force
Developed from	Aerospatiale Puma

The Denel Aviation AH-2 Rooivalk is a modern attack helicopter manufactured by Denel Aerospace Systems of South Africa. Rooivalk is Afrikaans for "Red Kestrel".

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.

Contents 1 Background 2 Overview 2.1 Missions 3 Operators 4 Specifications 5 External links 6 Related content

[edit] Background

The Atlas XH-1 Alpha was developed from an Alouette III airframe, retaining that helicopter's engine and dynamic components, but replacing the original cockpit with a stepped tandem one, adding a 20mm cannon on the nose and converting the undercarriage to tail-dragger configuration.

The XH-1 first flew on 3 February 1985, and soon embarked on a rigorous flight test program to examine the feasibility of a dedicated attack helicopter in southern African conditions. The results were ultimately good enough to convince Atlas and the South African Air Force to go ahead with the development of a dedicated attack helicopter - the AH-2 Rooivalk.

It should be noted however that the XH-1 and Rooivalk are completely different aircraft and share no components (the Rooivalk was developed from the later XH-2 prototype).

[edit] Overview

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 the 12 aircraft were operational with the others in need of software upgrades. The South African Air Force Chief hoped that the helicopters would be ready around June 2007, indicating the "extremely worrying factor of time that the project was taking to reach maturity", attributing the delays to the exodus of personnel from Denel as well as its financial problems. This has forced the nation's air force to assess alternative defense development partners.^[1]

[edit] Missions

The following types of missions are foreseen for the AH-2 Rooivalk:

• Reconnaissance
• Heliborne escort
• Close air support
• Deep penetration
• Anti-armour

[edit] Operators

•  South Africa: South African Air Force

[edit] Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: 2 (pilot & weapon systems officer)
• Length: 18,73 m (main rotor to tail rotor); 16.39 m fuselage ()
• Rotor diameter: 15.58 m ()
• Height: 5.19 m ()
• Empty weight: 5,190 kg ()
• Max takeoff weight: 8,750 kg (13,225 lb)

• Internal fuel capacity: 1,469 kg)

• Powerplant: 2× Turbomeca Makila 1K2 turboshafts, 1,716 kW (sea-level ISA) () each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 309 km/h (193 mph)
• Range: 700 km combat; 1,130 km ferry (440 mi / 700 mi)
• Service ceiling: 6,000 m (20,000 ft)
• Rate of climb: 13.3 m/s (2,105 ft/min)
• Disc loading: lb/ft² (kg/m²)
• Power/mass: hp/lb (kW/kg)

Armament

• 1 x F2 20 mm cannon, 700 rounds
• 8 or 16 x Mokopa ZT-6 long-range anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM),
• 4 x MBDA Mistral air-to-air missiles,
• 36 or 72 x 70 mm folding fin aerial rockets (FFAR)

[edit] External links

• Denel Aviation Official Rooivalk Site
• Aircraft.co.za - The Complete Aviation Reference
• Rooivalk delivery problems

[edit] Related content

Related development

• Atlas XH-1 Alpha
• Aerospatiale Puma

Comparable aircraft

• AH-1 Cobra
• Agusta A129 Mangusta
• Eurocopter Tiger
• HAL Light Combat Helicopter

Related lists

• List of attack aircraft
• List of helicopters