Publication: Business Day Issued: Date: 2006-07-06 Reporter: Wendell Roelf Reporter:

SA’s Top Military Helicopter May Get a Spin in Turkey

 

Publication 

Business Day
Date 2006-07-06

Reporter

Wendell Roelf

Web Link

www.businessday.co.za

 

IT IS an awe-inspiring sight, watching a nine-ton helicopter perform loops and barrel rolls, the aeronautical equivalent of Luciano Pavarotti performing a perfect pike on the diving board.

But this is exactly what Denel Aviation’s CSH-2 Rooivalk attack helicopter can do, although, clearly, that is not part of its operational flying capability.

The Rooivalk was designed to fly in all weather conditions, day or night, at extremely low levels, sometimes 10m off the ground, to avoid being detected.

Developed in the 1990s, the Rooivalk (which translates into Red Hawk) is used by the South African Air Force. Thus far it has not been exported.

However, it has been given a Phoenix-like lifeline and is short-listed, together with Italy’s Mangusta A129 International, as a contender in a multibillion-rand deal to build 50 attack helicopters for Turkey.

“It would have sold a long time ago if it hadn’t been crippled by defence cuts. The result was that the air force did not buy enough of them ­ 12 instead of 36,” says Helmoed Heitman, South African correspondent for Jane’s Defence magazine.

The Rooivalk brims with weaponry and technology and is bracketed in some quarters with the world’s leading attack helicopter, the US’s Apache.

“In many respects it is better than the Apache. It centres on a database *1, which makes it easier to integrate other weapons and systems, where most of the Apaches are hard-wired *2. The cockpit design and layout is also better, and the aircraft is easier to maintain and fix in the field,” says Heitman.

The Rooivalk can reach a top speed of 309km/h. Its main weapon system is the long-range precision-guided antiarmour missile, the Mokopa (“Black Mamba”), which is likely to be part of the Rooivalk offering to Turkey.

The Rooivalk has a special mechanism to lower the heat signature of its two turboshaft engines, which provides life-saving protection from heat-seeking missiles such as the popular shoulder-mounted Stinger or Igla.

It carries a comprehensive range of weaponry selected for the mission requirement, ranging from antiarmour and antihelicopter missions to ground suppression and ferry missions.

Denel spokesman Sam Basch says the aircraft is designed for high-intensity operations in a high-threat environment on a 24-hour basis.

“Its design evolved from battle-proven concepts. A dedicated combat helicopter, it can operate with minimal support for extended periods far from home. This is of paramount value when modern-day conflicts demand high mobility of forces in a short time.”

Basch says the Rooivalk can stay airborne for up to three hours to exploit its supremacy in such operations.

And, with a three-ton disposable load, four fully interchangeable main weapon stations and a 700km range in the primary role (plus a self-deployment range of 1100km) it gives “unrivalled flexibility, reach and lethality”.

The Rooivalk also offers high levels of “survivability” and combines agility and “low detectability” with self-defence weapons, ballistic tolerance and “crashworthiness”.

Most of the Rooivalk’s systems will remain functioning because of its systematic redundancy design *3, which means its on-board systems are duplicated.

If the Turkey sale goes through, there is a possibility that other nations, such as Pakistan and Malaysia, could also buy SA’s premier attack helicopter.

As Basch notes, when the Rooivalk made its international debut at the Dubai Air Show some years ago, it elevated SA into a new dimension.

“It became immediately apparent that SA was not just another manufacturer of defence equipment. We were one of a select few, one of the top few.” *4

With acknowledgements to Wendell Roelf and Business Day.


*1       She means databus oor local area network, precisely the same concept as the Information Management System (IMS) offered for the corvette combat suite.


*2      Effectively similar to the ADS/Thomson-CSF architecture supplied for the corvette combat suite - a mass of cross-linked serial data connections - an upgrader's or fault-finder's nightmare.


*3      Perfectly implemented by the IMS's design, poorly by the ADS/Thomson-CSF design.


*4      Yet the DoD and SA Navy opted for French spaghetti when superior and less costly equipment was already available home-grown.

One can only ask why, Thabo?

The French Connection, Thabo?

The German Connection, Thabo?

R133 million of Necessary Expenses, Thabo?

Just for starters, Thabo?

Competitive and cost-effective, Thabo?

Honestly can't remember, Thabo?

Slanderous, Thabo?

Bull manure, Thabo!