Denel Rooivalk

The Rooivalk project began in early 1984 under the auspices of the Atlas Aircraft Corporation, a predecessor of Denel Aviation.[4] Faced with the increasingly conventional nature of the South African Border War, the South African Defence Force recognised the need for a dedicated attack helicopter and began developing a suitable aircraft. The helicopter was to escort helicopter troop transports, conduct strike missions upon anti-aircraft positions, and effectively counter the increasing presence of Soviet tanks; in the latter role, it was to be equipped with anti-tank missiles.[4] At the time, South Africa was under an arms embargo enacted by United Nations Security Council Resolution 418 due to its policy of apartheid, which prevented foreign combat helicopters from being imported.[5]

Developing an entirely new helicopter from scratch would have involved designing and developing many accompanying subsystems and components, such as the turboshaft engines and the dynamic systems, such as the main and tail rotor systems and the gearboxes.[4] Due to the great difficulty posed by the prospects of designing and manufacturing a clean-design helicopter, which would have substantially increased the cost and timescale of the project, it was decided to base the attack helicopter upon an existing design. At the time, the SAAF operated two principal helicopter types – the Aérospatiale Alouette III and the Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma.[4] The Alouette III was a small helicopter which originated from the 1960s; due to the age of the design and a lack of engine power, it was not considered a favourable candidate for further development work.[4]

The Puma was substantially larger and was equipped with more powerful engines; both factors provided a broader basis for the accommodation of additional equipment and for potential growth.[4] Another key factor for its selection was the parallel development of a localised and improved model of the Puma in South Africa, known as the Atlas Oryx. The Oryx possessed an increased power-to-weight ratio and had improved performance in the high temperature climate that the type was typically being operated in; development of the Oryx was far quicker than what would become the Rooivalk as it was a more straightforward program.[4] Other potential sources were mooted, such as the use of propulsion elements of the Aérospatiale SA 365 Dauphin; the adoption of these components has been speculated to have likely resulted in a smaller and potentially more economic rotorcraft.[4]

Ultimately, it was decided to adopt both the powerplant and dynamic systems of the Oryx—which bore significant similarities to their Puma and Aérospatiale AS332 Super Puma ancestors—as the basis for the planned attack helicopter; commonality with the Oryx systems would simplify logistics and reduce maintenance costs.[4][6] This meant that the attack helicopter would have a significantly large airframe, giving it long range and the capability to carry many sensors and armaments. During the 1980s, the defence budgets of South Africa were relatively generous, especially in contrast to later decades, thus Denel sought to provide a rotorcraft that would be amongst, even potentially superior to, the best attack helicopters in the world.[4] The helicopter, later named the Rooivalk, was envisioned as an agile, highly sophisticated gunship, especially suited to the threats of the Angolan theatre and countering vehicles such as the T-55 tank.[7]

The Atlas XH-1 Alpha was the first prototype to emerge from the program.[4] It was developed from an Alouette III airframe, retaining that helicopter's engine and dynamic components; modifications included the replacement of the original cockpit with a stepped tandem counterpart, the addition of a 20 mm cannon on the nose and the conversion of the undercarriage to a tail-dragger configuration. On 3 February 1985, the XH-1 conducted its maiden flight. The results of flight tests of the XH-1 were ultimately good enough to convince both Atlas and the SAAF that the concept was feasible, opening the door to proceed with the development of the Rooivalk.

A Rooivalk at the Farnborough Airshow in 1994

The prototype first flew on the 11 February 1990,[1] by which time the program had suffered a considerable setback.[4] Some of the program's ailments were a consequence of the ambition to produce a world-leading attack helicopter; while a simpler aircraft may have been completed during the 1980s, allowing it to possibly enter service around the same time as the Oryx, the Rooivalk instead suffered from a highly extended development time. In 1988, the Border War came to a close, which soon led to substantial cuts in the defence budget. The planned attack helicopter acquisition was cut from 36 rotorcraft to only 12, greatly affecting the economies of scale.[4] In pursuit of a high-end system, the cost of the program in comparison to a simpler attack helicopter were driven upwards, although the increases were never in excess of the allotted budget between 1984 and 1990.[4]

It has been claimed that some SAAF officials were of the viewpoint that the Rooivalk was a direct threat to fixed-wing aircraft, particularly in light of the diminishing defence budget, and sought its termination.[4] The South African Army were broadly supportive of the Rooivalk program, in part as the presence of South African attack helicopters would reduce the need for large numbers of tanks to be procured and maintained. The Army thus provided funding for the Rooivalk program for a time, helping it survive the tightening budgetary constraints. The delays and escalating costs of the project were a hindrance not only to its introduction but to its later viability.[7] By 1998, the year in which the first production Rooivalk was delivered to the SAAF, the lengthy development time meant that the rotorcraft was already suffering from some alleged obsolescence issues; it was an aerodynamically sound aircraft but the avionics, while advanced for the 1980s, were relatively outdated, which harmed the type's export potential.[4]

The topic of support for the rotorcraft was another decisive factor in prospective export sales.[4] Beyond doubts present over the long term future of Denel and thus its ability to provide the necessary manufacturer support to operate the type, the Rooivalk relies extensively on French technology, presently owned by Airbus Helicopters; due to the Rooivalk being a rival to the Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopter, the firm allegedly warned potential buyers that the necessary support for the aircraft's dynamic systems, which they provided, may not be forthcoming.[4][5] Political factors had been attributed as a major hindrance on the export market, such as pressure allegedly exercised by the United States government to persuade foreign customers to select the rival Boeing AH-64 Apache instead.[7]

Various potential export opportunities were investigated, such as Malaysia, the United Kingdom, and Turkey, however no such sales had emerged by 2013.[7] The development of the Rooivalk had a positive effect on the development of the South African aviation and high technology industries, leading to the creation of firms such as Aerosud and Advanced Technologies and Engineering (ATE).[4] The industrial impact of the Rooivalk program has been claimed to have enabled South African defence businesses to participate in other aerospace programs, such as the Saab JAS 39 Gripen, BAE Systems Hawk, AgustaWestland AW109, and Airbus A400M Atlas.[5]

In 2016, Denel was reportedly proceeding with a Mk 1.1 upgrade program for the existing Rooivalk fleet; prospective improvements include the addition of a missile approach warning system and enhancements to the rotorcraft's avionics.[8] On 15 September 2016, it was announced that Airbus Helicopters and Denel had signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on the SAAF modernisation program; further details on the changes included reliability and survivability improvements, an increased payload, and the replacement of obsolete targeting systems and armaments.[9][10]

In September 2014, Denel Group chief executive Riaz Saloojee stated that the firm were studying the feasibility of reopening the Rooivalk production line, which had been mothballed in 2007 after the production of the initial 12 SAAF aircraft. Saloojee stated that new production aircraft conforming to an entirely new platform that used Rooivalk technology could be produced.[11] In September 2016, the South African government authorised government-to-government negotiations on the topic of restarting production of the Rooivalk. According to Victor Xaba, deputy chief executive of Denel Aerostructures, the company needed commitments for at least 70 rotorcraft for the re-establishment of the assembly line to be viable.[8]

The production of a prospective Rooivalk Mk 2 had been periodically mooted.[5] In July 2015, Saloojee spoke on the company's efforts to gain support for a Rooivalk Mk 2 programme which would involve a large proportion of new systems and for which the firm had already produced a roadmap.[12] In late 2016, Denel stated that it was conducting a series of talks with various nations on the Rooivalk Mk 2, including Egypt, Brazil, Nigeria, Poland, and India.[9]

In 2023, Denel Aeronautics and Aselsan signed an agreement to collaborate on the avionics upgrade of the Rooivalk.[13]