Denel AH-2 Rooivalk
The Denel AH-2 Rooivalk is South Africa's domestically developed attack helicopter, built during the apartheid-era arms embargo when the country couldn't legally import a modern Western attack helicopter and had to design its own instead. Its dynamic components and engines are derived from the civilian Aerospatiale Puma helicopter, a workaround that let South African engineers build on a proven, embargo-accessible base rather than starting completely from scratch. Its name means 'red kestrel' in Afrikaans, reflecting the bird-of-prey naming convention common across South African military aircraft. Production remained limited to a small fleet, making it a comparatively rare and distinctive attack helicopter used only by the South African Air Force.
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Did you know?
Built during South Africa's arms embargo, the Rooivalk attack helicopter borrows its engines and rotor system from the civilian Puma helicopter.
Specifications
| Length | 18.7 m (61 ft) |
|---|---|
| Height | 5.2 m (17 ft) |
| Rotor diameter | 15.6 m (51 ft) |
| Persons on board | 2 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Maximum take-off weight | 8.7 t |
| Range | 468 NM (867 km) |
| Service ceiling | 20,000 ft (6,096 m) |
| Optimum ceiling | 16,500 ft (5,029 m) |
| Rate of climb | 2,620 ft/min (13.3 m/s) |
| Fuel capacity | 1,850 l |
| Engines | 2x Turbomeca Makila 1K2 |
| Units built | 12 |
Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.
In CatchFlights
In CatchFlights the Denel AH-2 Rooivalk starts as a Legendary catch. The tier is an editorial judgement of how special a sighting of this type is. The more often you catch it, the closer it moves to Common for you. The first catch of a legendary type pays a bonus of its own.
A catch counts for the manufacturer Denel, the AH-2 Rooivalk family and the model in your collection, and the daily Type Rating quiz asks about the types of each family.
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