Aerocraft: Rooivalk Attack Helicopter, South Africa

Aerocraft: Rooivalk Attack Helicopter, South Africa

1.Specifications:

Key Data:

Crew

Pilot, weapon systems officer

Missions

Anti-armour, ground suppression, anti-helicopter, ferry, reconnaissance and counter-insurgency

Dimensions:

Main Rotor to Tail Rotor

18,732mm

Main Rotor Diameter

15,580mm

Overall Height

5,187mm

Weights:

Maximum Take-Off Weight

8,750kg

Minimum Operating Weight

5,730kg

Maximum Internal Fuel

1,469kg

Engines:

Powerplant

2 x Makila 1K2

Twin-Engine Take-Off Rating

2,243kW

Single-Engine, Super Continence

1,660kW

Performance:

Fast Cruise Speed

150kt

Maximum Sideways Speed

50kt

Maximum Rate of Climb, Twin-Engine Operation

2,620ft/min

Maximum Rate of Climb, Single-Engine Operation

1,280ft/min

Maximum Range, Internal Fuel

700km

Maximum Range, External Fuel

1,260km

Maximum Hover Ceiling (OGE) Out-of-Ground Effect

17,900ft

Maximum Hover Ceiling (IGE) In-Ground Effect

19,200ft

Excess Hover Power margin OGE, Sea-Level Anti-Tank Mission

39%

Weapons:

Missiles

8 or 16 anti-tank missiles, 7in SAL missile or HOT3
Air-to-air missiles, infrared guidance

Rockets

38 or 76 70mm unguided rockets, variation of warheads

Cannon

20mm F2 cannon, high-velocity ammunition (900 rounds)

Sighting Systems

Dual Helmet-Mounted Sight and Display (HMSD)
Stabilised nose-mounted sight with FLIR, TV, laser rangefinder, laser designator and autotracking

Avionics

Total mission modes
Target acquisition
Flight control
Health and usage monitoring
Communications
Threat detection and control
Flight and fuel

2.Introductions:

The Rooivalk is a latest-generation attack helicopter from Denel Aviation of South Africa. The South African Air Force ordered 12 Rooivalk AH-2As, the first of which entered service in July 1999. The helicopters form part of No. 16 Squadron at Bloemspruit Air Force Base (near Bloemfontein).

The helicopters have been delivered and were to be fitted with the Mokopa ZT-6 anti-tank missile. A production order for the Mokopa was placed in March 2004. Delays with the development of the missile mean that it is unlikely to be integrated on the Rooivalk.

The helicopter is planned to achieve initial operational capability in late 2009 but full capability with an anti-tank missile is not currently planned.

Rooivalk cockpit

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.

A Thales Avionics TopOwl helmet-mounted sight display (HMSD) provides the crew with a head-up display of information for nap-of-the-earth flight (NOE). TopOwl incorporates an integrated measurement system for directing an articulated weapon such as the cannon, or air-to-air missile seeker heads. It has an integrated Gen IV image intensifier and FLIR capability and provides transition from day to night use at the push of a button.

The Rooivalk has a crash-resistant structure and is designed for stealth with low radar, visual, infrared and acoustic signatures.

Weapons

The Rooivalk carries a comprehensive range of weaponry selected for the mission requirement, ranging from anti-armour and anti-helicopter missions to ground suppression and ferry missions. The aircraft can engage multiple targets at short and long range, utilising the nose-mounted cannon and a range of underwing-mounted munitions.

The 20mm, F2 dual-feed, gas-operated cannon fires high-speed (1,100m/s) ammunition at a firing rate of 740 rounds a minute. Two ammunition bins hold up to 700 rounds of ready-to-fire ammunition. The slew rate of the cannon is 90° a second. The cannon is chin-mounted on the helicopter.

The Rooivalk was to be armed with the Mokopa long-range anti-armour missile developed by the Kentron Division of Denel. Mokopa has a semi-active laser seeker head and is equipped with a tandem warhead. Range is over 8.5km. Rooivalk can also fire Hellfire or HOT 3 missiles.

“The Rooivalk is armed with the Mokopa long-range anti-armour missile.”

Rooivalk can carry four air-to-air missiles such as the Denel Aerospace Systems V3C Darter or MBDA (formerly Matra BAe Dynamics) Mistral.

The V3C Darter has an infrared seeker and a helmet-mounted sight for target designation. The Mistral, which has been selected by the South African Air Force, has an infrared seeker and range of up to 6km.

Rooivalk is equipped to fire 70mm folding-fin aerial rockets (FFAR), from the company Forges de Zeebrugge of Belgium, with a range of warheads, selectable according to the type of targets being engaged.

Countermeasures

The Rooivalk’s electronic warfare suite is the fully integrated helicopter electronic warfare self-protection suite (HEWSPS), incorporating radar warning, laser warning and countermeasures dispensing system. The system is flight-line programmable and in-flight adaptable to match the threat library with the mission’s area of operation.

The radar warner features low-effective radiated power (ERP) / pulse Doppler radar detection beyond radar detection range, ultra broadband frequency coverage, high pulse density handling and internal instantaneous frequency measurement.

The laser warner provides broadband laser frequency coverage to detect and display rangefinding, designating and missile guidance laser threats.

The countermeasures dispensing system, which is operated in manual, semi-automatic or fully automatic mode, is charged with chaff and flare cartridges.

Fire control and observation

Target detection, acquisition and tracking are carried out using the nose-mounted stabilised sight, TDATS. The TDATS sight is equipped with a low-level television sensor, Forward-looking infrared (FLIR), autotracker, laser rangefinder and laser designator.

“The Rooivalk has a crash-resistant structure.”

Navigation and communications

The Rooivalk is equipped with an advanced navigation suite including Doppler radar velocity sensor, Thales Avionics eight-channel global positioning system, heading sensor unit and an air data unit.

The communications suite consists of two VHF/UHF transceivers with FM, AM and digital speech processing, one HF radio with frequency hopping and secure voice and data channels, and an IFF transponder.


source: WILI PHIEU