Denel Aviation on Thursday handed the last of 11 operation-ready Rooivalk helicopters over to the South African Air Force (SAAF).
Denel Aviation CEO Mike Kgobe said the acceptance of the locally developed combat support helicopter marked the culmination of a 26-year partnership between the SAAF and Denel.
“We took this proudly South African aircraft through all its stages – from design to manufacturing, upgrading and retrofitting – to the point where it will soon be deployed,” he noted.
Denel would continue to undertake the ongoing maintenance and repair services and providing the continued airworthiness engineering support to ensure the fleet of 11 helicopters remained mission-ready.
“This is a win-win situation for both Denel and the SAAF, which results in the retention of high-level critical skills, focused service delivery and cost effectiveness for the SAAF,” stated Kgobe.
The company recently received a “zero defect report” from the SAAF to confirm that all 11 Rooivalk helicopters had been upgraded to Block 1F baseline standards.
Denel Aviation said it was receiving excellent feedback from the SAAF – and especially from 16 Squadron at Air Force Base Bloemspruit – where the first batch of helicopters has been flying continuously since April 2011.
Denel Aviation Rooivalk project manager Dewald Steyn said the performance of the aircraft was being closely monitored and evaluated from a design and development perspective.
He added that the helicopter had exceeded expectations and no major maintenance or repair work had been required thus far.