Denel AH-2 Rooivalk is an attack helicopter manufactured by Denel of South Africa. Rooivalk is Afrikaans for "Red Kestrel". The South African Air Force (SAAF) 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.
The Rooivalk features a classic attack helicopter configuration. At first glance you could easily mistake it with the Eurocopter Tiger or the Agusta A 129 Mangusta. The cockpits are in stepped tandem configuration. The Weapon Systems Officer (WSO) is seated in the front cockpit and the pilot is seated in the cockpit above and behind the WSO. The cockpits, which are fitted with crashworthy seats and are armour-protected, are equipped with hands-on collective and stick (HOCAS) controls.
The AH-2 carries a range of weapons depending on the mission profile. It is generally fitted with a nose-mounted 20 mm cannon and can also carry air-to-air missiles, anti-armour missiles and unguided rockets. The AH-2 has a fire control system for target acquisition and tracking as well as an advanced navigation system using Doppler radar and GPS. Also incorporated is an electronic countermeasures suite coupled with chaff and flare dispensers.
Specifications of Denel AH-2 Rooivalk Attack Helicopter:
Crew: 2 (pilot & weapon systems officer)
Length: 18.73 m[13] (61 ft 5½ in)
Rotor diameter: 15.58 m (51 ft 1½ in)
Height: 5.19 m (17 ft 0¼ in)
Disc area: 190.60 m² (2,052.1 sq ft)
Empty weight: 5,730 kg (12,632 lb)
Loaded weight: 7,500 kg (16,535 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 8,750 kg (19,290 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Turbomeca Makila 1K2 turboshafts, 1,420 kW (1,904 shp) each
Internal fuel capacity: 1,854 L (489.8 US Gallons)
Never exceed speed: 309 km/h (167 knots, 193 mph)
Cruise speed: 278 km/h (150 knots, 173 mph) at sea level (max cruise)
Range: 740 km (380 nmi, 437 mi) at sea level(max internal fuel)
Ferry range: 1,335 km (720 nmi, 829 mi) at 1525 m (5,000 ft) (max external fuel)
Service ceiling: 6,100 m (20,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 13.3 m/s (2,620 ft/min)
Armament: 1 × F2 20 mm cannon, 700 rounds; 8 or 16 × Mokopa ZT-6 long-range anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM); 4 × MBDA Mistral air-to-air missiles; 38 or 76 × 70 mm folding fin aerial rockets (FFAR)
