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 Rooivalk carries a comprehensive range of weaponry selected for the mission requirement, ranging from anti-armour and anti-air 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 per minute. Two ammunition bins hold up to 700 rounds of ready-to-fire ammunition. The slew rate of the cannon is 90° per second. The cannon is chin mounted on the helicopter.
The Rooivalk is 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.
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.
