T - Department of Defence

eventsS A S O L D I E RSA Air Force'srelationship withDenel would stillcontinue withregard to themaintenance of theaircraft and thatthe Rooivalkwould strengthenthe strategic capability,particularlyin the peacekeepingmissions onthe continent. LtGen Gagianoadded: "Modernsystems were integratedinto the aircraft,and the cannonsystem hasbeen rectified: itsreliability is 100%and other safetyaspects have beenaddressed."Mr Antonie Visser,the Chief ofDefence Matériel,said that the qualificationprocess ofthe fully-certified locally designed andmanufactured combat supportDuring the handing over of theRooivalk helicopter Lt GenCarlo Gagiano, Chief of the SAAir Force (left) received amodel of the Rooivalk from MrTalib Sadik, Group CEO ofDenel.In front of a Rooivalk Mk 1 combat support helicopter during the handing overceremony, fltr: Mr Antonie Visser, Chief of Defence Matériel, Maj Gen TsokuKhumalo, Chief Director Force Preparation, Mr Talib Sadik, Group CEO of Denel,Maj Gen Gerald Malinga, GOC Air Command, Mr Sipho Mkhwanazi, Acting CEOof Armscor, Lt Gen Carlo Gagiano, Chief of the SA Air Force, and Mr MikeKgobe, CEO of Denel Aviation.Rooivalk helicopters was an importantdevelopment in a long line of achievementsstretching over more than 25 yearsto meet the needs of South AfricanDefence. He said: "The Rooivalk Projecthas through the years been a very successfulincubator for the rest of the industryand I have no doubt that the lessonslearnt during the quarter of a centuryspent on this development will providedividends for many more years to come."Standing next to the upgraded aircraft LtGen Gagiano said it had been tested atthe SA Air Force's Test FlightDevelopment Centre and that evaluationincluded day and night flight operations,target identification modes and self-protectionadvanced features. He said thatthe first five helicopters would bedeployed at 16 Squadron based inBloemfontein at AFB Bloemspruit andthe remaining six would be completedand ready for deployment later this year.He mentioned that Denel Aviationwould be responsible for the deeperlevelsupport capabilities needed to sustainflying operations, including maintenance,repair and overhaul (MRO) ofthe Rooivalk fleet.Another key benefit of this world-classSouth African helicopter is the considerableimprovements in avionics modernisationenabling the pilot to operatein night-vision goggle flying conditionswith a different rapid terrain databaseto enhance offensive counter-air threats.It is installed with state-of-the-art systemsintegrators for a wide variety ofapplications during tactical missionsand will expand the SA Air Force's missionoperation network and ensure thattraining stays on a par with the newunmatched resources of high-level mission-criticaltraining to meet air combatrequirements in operational theatres.J U N E 2 0 1 1 • s 21