Rooivalk Attack Helicopter - South African Gunship

[@jalabuschagne]

It's just sad that a company like Denel that developed this helicopter is bankrupt due to coruption

[@bernard8793]

@Straight talk Self determination I am black but I admit you are right

[@thekgi1349]

You are filthy racist pretending to be black.

[@gabrielscharneck8430]

Iggy why because a black can't agree that South Africa was a better country under the whites. Only bad thing was apartheid . Other than that South Africa would be one of the greatest countries in the world . Not it's slowly becoming a shit hole

[@deanfirnatine7814]

@@thekgi1349 Maybe he is just honest, the facts speak for themselves just look at how South Africa is falling apart in every measurable way, the ceremonial King of the Zulu said it himself, do a search on his comments, under the new rules of You Tube if I repeated what he said exactly I would probably get banned

[@deanfirnatine7814]

@@gabrielscharneck8430 Zulu King king said basically exactly what you just said, that things were better (except for a few political and economic elite who benefit from the massive corruption)

[@patrick5830]

South Africa gets put aside a lot but it’s interesting to find out they had the first MRAP designs

[@MakAlexMosc]

Some photos and description web.archive.org/web/20080918204929/www.mazoe.com/echoesarmouredvehicles.html

+ Samnite2142 Yep. It's pretty retarded if you ask me. They were fighting a defensive war against the socialists who were a threat to all. There was no political alternative either as it was either racist apartheid or even more racist ANC. Typically the west does deal when that's the case, for example looking at the deals with slave-trading tyrants from Dubai, UAE, Qatar, etc etc. So why they made such a big deal out of South Africa, I don't know.

[@chrisspencer6502]

Apparently I heard a rumor the Americans tried to lighten the caspir design, by changing out the hollow steel water tanks for thinker but lighter aluminium. Which had two drawbacks the blast bunched straight through the ali., And the troops couldn't have a drink.

[@francoisstiglingh1618]

We just started getting attention in 2017.. So there are a few things that you guys still don't know about us

[@strandloper]

@@chrisspencer6502 Sounds like rubbish to me. The Buffel's water tank was plastic so I have no reason to think the Casspir's was not also plastic. Furthermore, although it is said that the water tank is intended to help with landmine protection this is not the case. As far as weight goes, the vehicle weighs upwards of 12 metric tonnes. The water tank is quite small holding 200/220 litres. Even if it were metal it would be thin skinned so whether it was stell or aluminium would make only a tiny difference in the vehicle mass.

[@janniemeyer9951]

The US did not like the Rooivalk sold to their clients.Threatened sanctions. The helmet visor sights was ahead of its time.

[@FyodorUshakovSuka]

Typical USA we had that axe in the back also.

[@richardkuhn9795]

The helmet sight was bought by ....

[@marcuspotgieter4058]

That's true

[@grubbybum3614]

Pressure from America and France! Who didn't want it to compete with the Tiger

[@user-ot7lv8su1b]

Can I have the source of this information. As a South African it breaks my heart.

[@philipmijburgh6388]

The most impressive thing about the rooivalk is that it is considered to be up to modern standards even though it was designed in the 1980's...just shows how much ahead of its time it is/was.

[@pauldbeer]

For info, so is the Apache and the MI-24 and the Cobra and and and.... Rooivalk development started in its concept phase in 1984, but the first flight was in 1990. The final production version flew in around the 1998/99 year and production started in 2001 if I'm not mistaken, with the last of 12 units delivered in 2004. The whole butch went through a upgrade and final acceptance phase from 2009 through to 2012 when the final of the MkI-F models was delivered to the SAAF. So, no, it is not really 1980's tech, but truth been told, it is a mixture of '70's through to the later 2000's first decade tech.....

[@iHelpSolveIt]

Its been through a number of constant upgrades.

[@penskepc2374]

I think most well known attack choppers were designed in the 70/80s

[@JoJo-vm8vk]

Most sub-systems of the Rooivalk are French ! They put together the airframe: - engines: Turbomeca Makila 1K2 (Puma/ Oryx) - gear boxes, rotor and tail rotor (Puma/ Oryx) - sighting system: SAGEM Strix (Tigre HAP/ HAD) - HMD: Thales TopOwl (Tigre) - cockpit displays, general arrangement and HOCAS: Tigre - gun: GIAT 20mm F2 - rockets: standard NATO rockets - AA missile: MBDA Mistra They designed their own anti-tank missile, goo for them.

[@estianburger8709]

Matsimus thank you hello from South Africa

[@alrichhills1815]

Estian Burger hello ou bull

[@estianburger8709]

Alrich Hills dagse dagse

[@yeoshenghong4802]

Africa is a country?

[@frederickgates4349]

Same here

[@Gozar111]

This chopper was extensively used in combat support operations in the Congo to great effect. Earned a lot of respect. Hi from 🇿🇦

[@markthompson4859]

Our Bloemspruit aviators are a solid bunch of people. Very proud of them

[@gideonvanniekerk4252]

just had to mention this! It is actually intended for long range missions as it has double the fuel capacity of the Apache whilst only using internal fuel tanks! Also, it is the first AH in the world that can do a full backflip!

[@hermanvanstaden4242]

As a South African Citizen I want to congratulate your enunciation of the names. Brilliantly said.

[@AndyinMokum]

As an Dutch speaking Englishman, I understand most Afrikaans, (the accent aside 🤣). I second Herman's comment. Your pronunciation is excellent 👍.

[@pauldbeer]

I would like to add some info in connection with the avionics and targeting systems of the Rooivalk. There was some issues raised with avionics age in 2008 and some upgrades followed between 2009 and 2011. Please keep in mind that the Rooivalk development started in 1984 with the first prototype flying in 1990/1991 and the second one (EDM) in 1993. The third prototype followed in around 1996/7 and this was also brought up to the pre-production std. The production order was finally received in 1999 and the production aircraft delivered between 2001 and 2004/5. See this in comparison with the Apache, where most of the C/D versions were already delivered by middle to late 1990. Thus one can see that the Rooivalk utilized military tech from the late 1990’s while the Apache C/D were mostly constructed with military tech from late 80’s and early 90’s. Avionics: The dual cockpits have two large colour multi-function displays. These displays are fully inter-operable thus capable of displaying flight info, navigation data (moving terrain map), mission info and data, target data and video, weapon system info and ordinance status as well as radio and communication info. There is also full thread identification and status displays. These displays are all flat screen colour LCD’s. TDATS: Target detection/acquisition and tracking system - This comprises a fully stabilized optical day camera and FLIR system, incorporating Laser range finder and designator, thus providing full day and night operation capability. This system is mainly controlled by the WSO in the front cockpit although the system can be slaved to the pilot or WSO’s helmet mounted sights. These HMD/S are binocular systems, displaying both flight info, weapon systems and target simbology with TDATS video overlay. The TDATS has target identification and tracking functions and can be used to guide missiles and canon onto the target. Night vision: There is also a separate night vision stabilized sight on the top of the nose of the helicopter and this can also be slaved to pilot’s helmet. This sight’s HD-video imagery is displayed on the pilot’s helmet’s visor super-imposed over the flight simbology. The flight controls are fully HOTAS and there is a digital autopilot with altitude hold, hover hold and nav and heading hold. Both front and back cockpits can fly the aircraft. The communication system is both audio and video data capable. The mission plan can be loaded into the aircraft by means of a cartridge system holding target info, nav info with flight plan with mission set-points and communication info.

[@tebogomatshediso4058]

Legendary Stuff 🎉

[@JoJo-vm8vk]

Most sub-systems of the Rooivalk are French ! They put together the airframe: - engines: Turbomeca Makila 1K2 (Puma/ Oryx) - gear boxes, rotor and tail rotor (Puma/ Oryx) - sighting system: SAGEM Strix (Tigre HAP/ HAD) - HMD: Thales TopOwl (Tigre) - cockpit displays, general arrangement and HOCAS: Tigre - gun: GIAT 20mm F2 - rockets: standard NATO rockets - AA missile: MBDA Mistra They designed their own anti-tank missile, goo for them.

[@MrAwsomenoob]

i'm personally fascinated by the south african military their vehicles and combat doctrine are pretty interesting

[@epe520]

The SADF died in 1994 when the blacks took control of SA

[@sandilebm78g52]

10 000 subs no videos Challenge racist piece of trash 😡😡

[@sandilebm78g52]

10 000 subs no videos Challenge racist piece of trash 😡😡

[@sandilebm78g52]

Mike Spencer if somebody brings out race as a way to discredit somebody, what do you call that?🤔

[@carelschlesinger1276]

Sandf had a demonstration in a stadium where they used live ammo, from that you can tell how fucked up it is! FUBAR!!!!!!

[@superwout]

Not intended for long range missions like the Apache? It has a radius of 740 km, compared to 400 km for the Apache! And it carries an equal number of ATGM's.

[@tonymattingly6494]

he meant long range engagment,. not m9ilage range,.. fyi

[@superwout]

tony mattingly well then they should hang Hellfire missiles on the Rooivalk. It is not the Apache that is special but merely the missiles it carries

[@MrTangolizard]

superwout the optics and radars play an important part of the missiles range as well

[@superwout]

that too can be built in to any platform especially a large airframe like the Rooivalk

[@mhamma6560]

Actually -- if you look at the raw data comparing this to the apache, the numbers don't add up. Similar weight, similar power, similar disc size, yet the apache's ferry range absolutely crushes it. They say the AH2's ferry range is exactly twice that of it's combat radius? Yet the apaches ferry range is 1,000 miles, compared to AH2 820 miles. Someone somewhere is fudging the numbers. Clearly the AH2 isn't rated in combat radius, it's rated in scout radius. Load up with weapons on the wings, increase drag, and it's combat radius isn't 1/2 of its ferry. Apache is much more robust too -- while its empty weight is lighter than AH2, it's max take off weight is nearly 4,000lbs more. Sounds like the AH2 is a chinesium special IMO. The rotor, especially tail rotor doesn't look robust at all. A skinny w/ a 7.62 is going to give the crew a very bad day.

[@johannchambers2098]

im from south africa thanks for covering this. im very proud of my our military .Unfortunately the standards of our military has dramticaly dropped ,but back in the days it was a formidable force armed with some of the best vehicles and arms in the world,I live in a generation where everyones fathers was drafted into the military for a minimum of 2 years , so we all grew up with war stories of the border war, so thank you again for trying to give our military the recognition it deserves.....ps the rooikat was so good even britain bought them , thus you can find it in war thunder under the british tech tree

[@UMAKEMESMILESWACKIN]

after the Blacks took over there were no more innovation in SA

[@gentleentle601]

So you live in a generation where the fathers you speak of were most probably racist pieces of shit. Murderers too.

[@petterderter6354]

u mean when they had to give up the real south african power

[@nhlakaniphombatha5769]

👍🙋👏

[@thenomad47]

Luckily the standards of the SANDF didn't drop, but the budget sure as hell did. Last I heard the SANDF were only receiving 40-50% the amount of money they needed to just maintain and uphold their current forces. The fault isn't with the SANDF, it's with the ANC being too busy stealing all the state funds to properly fund the SANFD

[@jthwaits]

Matsimus Just an interesting factoid about the Rooivalk and the SA defence industry, I was chatting to a rooivalk pilot at Ysterplaat airshow - as you may be aware many of these pieces were indigenously created during apartheid while SA was under trade embargoes, one of the things which came out of this was the original helmet mounted displays. I'm not sure if anyone's aware of that but that was indeed a South African invention, the same as frequency-hopping radio, which is now military standard today. SA is also the only nation in the entire world to have created and dismantled all of its nuclear weapons.

[@JoJo-vm8vk]

frequency-hopping radio was imagined during WW2. Most sub-systems of the Rooivalk are French ! They put together the airframe: - engines: Turbomeca Makila 1K2 (Puma/ Oryx) - gear boxes, rotor and tail rotor (Puma/ Oryx) - sighting system: SAGEM Strix (Tigre HAP/ HAD) - HMD: Thales TopOwl (Tigre) - cockpit displays, general arrangement and HOCAS: Tigre - gun: GIAT 20mm F2 - rockets: standard NATO rockets - AA missile: MBDA Mistra They designed their own anti-tank missile, goo for them.

[@Ugly_German_Truths]

Frequency hopping radio was used in WW2 by many nations after the USA was leading in the development. Maybe don't believe anythning a random pilot tells you at an airshow? In 1942, actress Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil received U.S. patent 2,292,387 for their "Secret Communications System", an early version of frequency hopping using a piano-roll to switch among 88 frequencies to make radio-guided torpedoes harder for enemies to detect or jam.

[@UkShaia]

Ah, Neal Ellis... one of the greatest gunship pilots ever! From RhAF- SAAF- EO, USAF consultant. This is the guy who almost single handedly took out the RUF from Sierra Leone with EO! If he had a hand in this, then its probably a damn good platform. Also, I understand that it has very capable anti-armour missiles but larger militaries refused to supply their missiles for this chopper and hence international sales were pretty bad for this bird...

[@iHelpSolveIt]

That was part of it, the interchangeable mounts ment that wasnt an issue but the threats from the US didnt help

[@lianvandenheever6387]

The hellfire missiels

[@lianvandenheever6387]

No thanks to the super powers who were hell bent on removing all white governments from Africa by supporting the so called "Liberation movements" .

[@James-fe7wd]

I love the Rooivalk. Great to see you covering some of the South African war machines.

[@danieferreira9094]

Thanks for featuring the Rooivalk! I am soooo proud to be South African! I really love your reviews!

[@ChifundoBanda]

May not be the worlds best, but we love our Rooivalk. At the annual airshow this get the biggest cheer next to Gripen.

[@nkosinathiisraelndlovu1580]

👌

[@sandboy4]

I help build all of them. I worked on Apache and Tiger. The Rooivalk is best. Sooooorry im South African.

[@sandboy4]

@@GryffieTube Hi yes a good platform. But the americans can give the Apache away and recover the money in follow up costs. I was one of the guys that build Rooivalk from number 1 to 12. We worked 14 hour days seven days a week. Proud? Hell yes. But there is no money to take it to where it can be. I work in a country that has a lot of Apaches but they are mostly grounded. Super expensive to operate. Ja what can we say?

[@choppergunner8650]

@@GryffieTube My country, Brazil, was involved in talks with Denel for joint development of the Rooivalk Mk.2 upgrade, complete with technology transfer. But Denel's price was too damn expensive, more than the regular Apache (AFAIK), so we stepped out of the offer. Shame though, as I would love seeing Brazilian Rooivalks with our Air Force's green-and-grey scheme.

[@ozzy7763]

Beautiful machine ! And thank you South Africa for the MRAPs ! Saved a lot of lives!

[@sq33qs]

This was actually a good vid on the Rooivalk. fair opinion and well made. Thank you Matsimus. Keep up the good work and greetings from South Africa. We are damn proud of this bird. :)

[@gideonleroux7519]

I worked on the F2 20mm gun assembly, great times what a privilege to be part of this project.

[@jimmyw7530]

Australia seriously considered this helicopter when purchasing the troubled Tiger. Possibly would have been a better choice.

[@Militaryheritage]

Much. Australia`s conditions are very similar to South Africa. Would have been far cheaper, more reliable and required less logistical support.

[@chrisspencer6502]

Look into why Turkey never took it. Eurocopter plays dirty.

[@bobkebob9980]

I heard it was because America wouldn’t let militaries put American weapons on it.

[@davidhobbs5679]

@@bobkebob9980 no here in Townsville we have issues with helecopters overheating before even taking off, as an old boss of mine (who worked for bae as a helicopter mechanic here)says they all ways have problems with humidity heat and dust Tigers and Taipans both.Honestly i don't see why they didn't by the Rooifalk and then indiginise the shit out of it but yeah sad times.

[@zoolkhan]

@@Militaryheritage just not as capable.

[@reinhardtjrossouw2482]

The Mokopa is primarily for anti-tank warfare. The actual max range is 12km, a lot further than the Hellfire. It is because we keep our equipment low key, people tend to underestimate it.

[@fedoremelianenko430]

They more usualy use Ingwe ATGM , Mokopa is used on drones it is about 180mm caliber and can destroy amore than 1500mm of RHA equivalent. Sorry for bad English.

[@pierreabrie9445]

Greetings from Johannesburg South Africa. Please make a video of the G6 Rhino howitzer.

[@Rhodesianeverdie]

Былые люди вы ещё живы?

[@MrSimonw58]

En die Rooivok

[@lukewilson9104]

@@MrSimonw58 dis n goeie een 😂

[@hilgardgarfieldlinks2367]

Serious fire power.. Wrath of God

[@hilgardgarfieldlinks2367]

Excellent range.. unmatched in its class

[@philchristmas4071]

South Africans make some nice MRAPs and artillery too. I didn't even realize the South Africans had such nice weapons until recently.

[@joe-jg4bh]

Makopa missile has an operational range of 10km intended to allow the Rooivalk to work at extended standoff ranges against tanks, this is why UK wanted to buy Rooivalk but didn't due to US placing sanctions on Denel. The close support role is something only the Rooivalk can do, no other attack heli was designed for this role. Do you know how robust this machine is in order to fullfil this particular role? This chopper can operate for hours and hours in extreme combat environments full of dust and shrapnel. It is almost double the size,weight of the eurocopter tiger, can fly almost 2km higher and carry almost 2 tons more payload. You can't even compare the two platforms it is senseless. Tiger got hyped, one of the worst out there. If you want to compare it compare it to the mi28 havoc and apache.

[@justcarcrazy]

I do believe that, unlike what was said in the video, Rooivalk has fly-by-wire which allows the pilot and the WOS to be in either cockpit. One of my colleagues was part of the Rooivalk project, while I worked with the Rooivalk design team at Denel on their UAV's propeller as a student.

[@chrisgaddin8683]

Saffa here, very impressed with your pronunciation of rooivalk. Also, Denel is responsible for more than a few pieces of hardware that are class leading. The casspir, g6, ratel, buffel, oliphant,etc just to name a few. Most are still running amongst the best in the world.

[@goodputin4324]

Who is Saffa?

[@chrisgaddin8683]

@@goodputin4324 saffa means South African. Someone from South Africa is a saffa.

[@goodputin4324]

@@chrisgaddin8683 ah good to know. Then what about kefir?

[@chrisgaddin8683]

@@goodputin4324 ah, that's a different word... Spelt a little different but that was a derogatory word for black person during apartheid in SA. We don't used it anymore, it's basically racist.

[@goodputin4324]

@@chrisgaddin8683 it's derived from the Arabic word kafir, right? Learnt it from the movie Blood Diamonds. TIA

[@JasonDykstraMT]

What an amazing aircraft! One of my favourite attack helicopters.

[@dave-ql2ri]

I saw one of these a few weeks ago at Langabaan Weg Airforce Base. The manoeuvrability of it is very impressive when you see it in person.

[@thomaswirkkala7230]

Matt, there's also Umkhonto (south african)SAM-system which i've heard is quite good!

[@MananZer0]

well spotted Thomas

[@ZANDF]

Thank you from us South Africans. We are indeed proud of this beast.

[@hagridsbeardguy1399]

I am incredibly proud of my people and my country for their innovation and ability to improvise and adapt. It's a tragedy to see how swiftly corruption at the hands of an inept government has turned our country into a weak and sad state of affairs.

[@goodputin4324]

It shows blacks can't run a country 😂

[@Ghostalbas]

You will never believe this but my father was one of the designers of the RooiValk, and he was also involved in testing it

[@craigblanckenberg4607]

Get some comments from him then!

[@goodputin4324]

Congratulations ❤

[@elison19120]

The South Africans created the first Ambushed Resistant Vehicles also called MRAPs.

[@Dreaded88]

@elison19120: It was actually called the 'Hippo', but you're right. The American gov't copied the design!

[@Stefan-ql1ms]

In the "old days" they had a lot to say about us and them. Not about OUR army though.

[@carelschlesinger1276]

I believe that the V shaped hull that makes the vehicles mine resistant was developed in SA. Rhodesia might have built it first as a prototype.... Who knows

[@droneeire-etienneredman9828]

@@Dreaded88 actually called the buffel...

[@Dreaded88]

@@droneeire-etienneredman9828 : *_Whoops!_* You're right! Sorry!

[@rikicakecreations1615]

Rooivalk (red falcon) was built coz of sanctions and we were young engineers and enjoyed great careers in the '80s

[@masogakekana1606]

@12:00 don't forget how the Hinds (Mi-24) with poor accuracy couldn't handle that no big deal anti aircraft gun in low visibility, it was in DRC at the Rwanda boarder against M23 rebels. Those 2 helicopters cooled that entire region as most rebels fled and led to immediate surrender. Rooivalk became the choice attack helicopter for UN chiefs in the region. Mokopa is better than hellfire, a-darter is 5th gen air to air, world-class helmet aiming system, simplified feild maintenance and she is agile, powerful precise and a high altitude machine that's not afraid of dust. Thank the Americans who interfered as they saw a threat to apache sales and the French for refusing to supply gearboxes and deny interested countries a superior product to the troubled Tiger, those who really didn't want the tigre ended up with apache.

[@katlehomokoena4724]

Nice, inspiring for South Africans to know their country is competent in areas that are relatively advanced technological. I mean if nuclear weapons could be developed and built here, more technological marvels are possible.

[@Will-hb2rm]

Hi Matsimus love seeing this as a South African !!! I traveled to Canada earlier this month and absolutely loved it , beautiful country !! Love the content please keep it up !!! And well done with the pronunciation

[@kirkbygate5674]

One of the few helicopters that can fly inverted, that is it can do both barrel and victory rolls.

[@rikabarnardo8190]

I was on the production line of the brother of the Rooifalk the Oryx. Love the video! Thanks

[@QingShanHao]

The country which can build this death angel no longer exist.

[@eish102]

So true all those brains have immigrated to other countries long ago.

[@droneeire-etienneredman9828]

@@eish102 fuck off the country still exists except now it in the hands of an incompetent government.

[@AkhonaNgquba]

Correct. The all talk and no action crew.

[@st4rship_780]

@@droneeire-etienneredman9828 honestly South Africa is a complete joke compared to how it was in the 1900's all because of the retarded racist government, no more smart people left here

[@asadini]

That is absolutely correct!

[@tedgarrett9437]

South Africa make some of the best weapons and systems I've ever seen.. had a lot of practice in Angola.. with the Cubans

[@pauldbeer]

Matsimus, thank you for admitting you do not know much about the Rooivalk, because that is quite clear. Some basics: 1) Although it has a similar configuration to Tigre and Cobra, it does not mean they are similar in all other aspects. Both Tigre and Cobra are substantially smaller than Rooivalk. The Rooivalk is in the same weight class as the Apache and the Mi-28. 2) When looking at A/T capabilities, why do you "think" the Rooival has very little? It has the capability of carrying up to 16 long range A/T missiles, just like Apache AH64?? Also, the Makopa missile has 2km range advantage on the Helfire. Then look at the 20mm cannon firing high velocity AP-rounds, with more kinetic energy than the 30mm rounds used by Apache and it is also capable of all the other missions Apache can do, with only one difference in that it does not have the mmW-radar. So why do you think it does not have much of an A/T capability? 3) Performance wise, the Rooivalk has a longer operating range than Apache, Mi-28, Tigre and Cobra and can carry as much ordinance as Apache, It has a slightly higher max cruise speed compared to Apache and a substantially better climb rate and max surface ceiling. Thus, this attack helicopter is more capable than most of the attack helicopter in the West, so, certainly not to be sneezed at....

[@BushmanAOD]

And one year later, nooooooo reply from the uploader! Maybe it was hard to swallow for him :)

[@skakpedersen]

Thank you, de Beer, nothing like cool and hard facts. And yes- the Rooivalk is a bird not to be ignored!

[@hilgardgarfieldlinks2367]

❤️❤️❤️

[@ServusIchBins]

Because he is clearly biased and things American made stuff must come from heaven itself

[@Blionarre]

Man how my people have messed everything up, I am just ashamed at how things turned out. But with that said I am very proud of this achievement for my country in part.

[@accountretired9479]

dakiwe wena

[@2engjnr2]

It's interesting to note that the HMD used on the JAS39 Gripen and Eurofighter Typhoon are developed and manufactured by Denel Optronics, the South African company that originally made them.

[@kangeegold7177]

Now the G6 Renoster next!

[@LostMoose89]

I suggested it to Matsimus a while ago. Must have gotten lost in his fan mail.

[@jeroldproductions6367]

South Africa! Aliens robots! EVERYTHING HAPPENS IN SOUTH AFRICA!

[@spikeydapikey1483]

Fookin prawns!

[@empire-classfirenationbatt2691]

Spikey DaPikey beat me to it lol

[@GregHartSk8er]

Chappie the chopper will sort out those prawns chop chop bru!

[@nexor1948]

During early 1980's I performed emergency standby for the Rooivalk while it underwent testing at the old Jan Smuts Airport on rwy 03L / 15 Atlas intersection. The maneuvers those pilots pulled were amazing, they dubbed it as SA's version of Airwolf.

[@manuelmamann5035]

This helicopter is a case study how ineffective sanctions are.

[@user-ks5ff]

Ineffective against productive white people, meanwhile in Zimbabwe they blame mass starvation on travel bans of Mugabe's top henchmen.

[@manuelmamann5035]

Sanctions are made to change the political situation to the better. Not to wage war on civillians. For example North Korea. USA claims to secure peace but because of sanctions they got the nuke and the civilians are still starving. BUt to make it even worse. They got propaganda, so they hate america. Solution. Help them to trade and therefor make them economic reliant on us. This would also result in a cultural exchange. Therefor empathy rises and propaganda depleds. Also they stop starving this may cause trust which results in communication which result maybe in political solutions. But i am sorry. This channel is so worth to me because it is about an interesting topic but excludes politics and geopolitics. Insteed replacing it by interest.

[@user-ks5ff]

Stop babbling crap, NK is starving because they keep huge standing army instead of letting them do something productive.

[@manuelmamann5035]

It is just my opionion and it is highly humanistic. And your communication with me so why should i not anwer you call. You dont have to like it. And comments are a bad habitat for productive conversation. I am actually a nice guy. And i asume you are too. They actually produce quite alot. And without exterior threat i belive they would reduce there army size anyways. Because, like you mentioned, army is pretty ineffective economic speaking. Tho USA spends so much it need the seven most spending countrys to get the same money together. and a high reliability on military products plus huge sozial problems like poverty and healthcare. North Korea and South Korea are handling there dispute alone anyways. Why do we actually need to interfear? Tho protection for SK is well needed. Protection for NK ass well. They are both koreans and human. Would be nice if you dont feel offended. Otherwise its your problem ;)

[@user-ks5ff]

I don't give a fuck about NK, I don't even know why you're talking about it.

[@stephanolivier1172]

Hi there, thank you so much for the awesome video. I served in the SANDF at School of Armour at Tempe and would like to add that the Rooivalk is able and has flown inverted and can do a barrel roll also. Just an interesting info for you

[@nizaampeck421]

Great Segment! Its very true that there is a deep sense of pride amongst South Africans that we can produce our own military equipment. Unfortunately we own very few of our own product due to bad management.

[@wildreklopper9030]

Nice video! Was hoping you would start doing videos about SADF weapons. Cant wait for the Olifant - also check out Ratel, rooikat and G6 when you get the chance.

[@tikyorules]

the g6 rhino my favorite mobile artillery.

[@PytonPagom]

certainly would like to see some more south-african metal !

[@armandlubbe4935]

Thanks for doing the South African equipment The rooivalk (BTW nice job on pronouncing it correctly) is actually very on par and in some cases better then the apache one reason is the rooivalk has been designed for high dust & desert environments which i know the apache struggled with in Irag in the gulf wars,The rooivalk is also the first helicopter in the world to do a 360 degree loop which is quite unique in the combat helicopter world It has to be also mentioned the rooivalk would have been launched in the early 90's but because of regime changes & continued underfunding of the Airforce & Military since then it was delayed.Also the rooivalk as you mentioned has a low radar signature which makes it very good for low flying scout & combat missions.Also the South African Air to ground anti tank missile it uses is highly effective & is reported to be able to penetrate 1200MM+ of RHA.So yes although it doesn't seem very flashy or High Techy it is a highly effective killing machine.Also could you do after the Olifant MBT the Rooikat & the New Badger APC that we have & also the G5 Artillery piece & G6 SPG which still holds the record for longest shell fired from a SPG at 75KM.Also do the mraps we have(We are world leaders on Mraps since the 60's) which america is buying from us over 17,000 mraps are being bought by America from South Africa.Also in response to it not intended for long range missions look at superwout's comment he is correct almost all South African equipment are designed for long range because when we fought in Angola that was a requirement because of the large distances between combat zones that we fought & lack of Sufficient Facilities everywhere to refuel & maintain everything in essentially very thick & rough bush & Desert terrain we designed our equipment to be able to run longer & farther exactly for that reason & needing less maintenance time then American & British equivalents

[@pyromaniac1918]

I'm actually very happy to hear you pronounce the Afrikaans names and words properly

[@tightcamper]

Anyone with more than a passing interest in defence matters during the 80s 90s and 00s knows about the South African defence industry. The South African arms industry was up there with the best.

[@appalachnik]

South Africa is still able to produce their own designs. Interesting.

[@reonblom1762]

Because we can't afford new helicopters we just fix the old ones

[@faheemasmalgee]

My late friends father was the head engineer for the electrical layout of this copter, his dad was the lead engineer for the grippen technology in SA as well.

[@GlocknadeClipazine]

RIP SADF 1957-1994

[@grantlandsmith]

Ons sal nooit vergeet nie.

[@christiannewaye7306]

Glocknade Clipazine long live SWAP0-PLAN(1974-today) and the FANLA(1974 - today)

[@wernerempire]

@@christiannewaye7306 Yes. We need comedy.

[@wernerempire]

@logicallyspkg Because stealing and destroying is all they're good at.

[@robert8552]

I hate you semi-humans even more!

[@khorgor]

that South African chap, Neall Ellis, is that the same guy that flew a Hind in Sierra Leone? I googled him and he looks remarkable similar

[@deanharmse5126]

It is the same Neall Ellis, yes. The footage of him in this vid is really old.

[@bryanhurd9955]

khorgor Yes

[@khorgor]

from getting a high rank in the South African Armed Forces to basically being the only Air Force in Sierra Leone, what a life

[@deanharmse5126]

khorgor and he received one of the highest medals of bravery during his SAAF service.

[@christiannewaye7306]

khorgor South Africa killed innocent people in Sierra Leone on behalf of the us and multinational companies

[@willielouw3409]

You have to look into the G-6 SPG from RSA , has an projectile range of +-68 km

[@somerandomguy5600]

Saw a guy this year at the airshow doing low speed maneuvers flawlessly... Also you didn't talk about the fact it's armoured... And pilots who've flown a range of attack helicopters, love it, they love its speed and maneuverability... Plus this thing is huge, only attack helicopter bigger than it is the hind

[@DasIllu]

I do think the Rooivalk is actually awesome. At least there is no inherent american remote off button installed ;-)

[@no_more_free_nicks]

How can you be sure?

[@Me63422]

Because it was designed and built when South Africa was under international arms embargo. Also all the avionics are designed and installed in south africa. Even the British Hawk fighter jets in the SAAF have south african avionics. Except the first one. That one was made in pasty England.

[@garynew9637]

Often thought about this!

[@iHelpSolveIt]

This was nearly selected by the UK military until the USA stopped the deal. There are 12 that have been completed. The UN called for this to be used when an Apache failed in a mission and the Red Hawk aka Rooi falk... Has cheaper running and lower operation costs.

[@snotcycle]

5:34 say it with me matsimus, AIR-OH-SPAY-SHE-AHL POO-MUH

[@maxpaine3777]

Hi there, just to tell you that a single Rooivalk did in fact destroy an armed rebel group, known as M-23 rebel group, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and that was in late afternoon during bad weather. A sorty of armed Ukranian Hip Mi-24's flew over the target without as much as a visual contact as weather was really bad. The rebels were caught by surprise, using the rain and low cloud as cover, the Rooivalk found them and with a single attack, unleashed havoc amid heavy return fire and it was over within a few seconds. The M-23 had there back bone broken by a single assault by this aircraft...

[@Psycandy]

South Africa also held nuclear warheads and conducted their own tests. They did a great deal under the radar.

[@marjannovoselc7109]

What?! Never head of the rooivalk?! I'm really surprised to hear that. Unfortunately there are only around 12 in operational service all together.

[@Militaryheritage]

11

[@marjannovoselc7109]

Sorry. My bad. 11

[@jakehayes1998]

Britian still builds stuff matimus, but most of it is jointly developed with Europe rather than bought. The f35 is also another example of joint development. And a lot of our ground vehicles is still made here.

[@Jarod-sm5rf]

Respect South Africa hope your have a prosperous future.

[@beekaa5]

love these southern african/dutch names rooi = red valk= falcon

[@johannchambers2098]

all named after indiginous species in South Africa

[@pierrepretorius8023]

Hi Matsimus. Yes, the company Dinel that designed and built the Rooivalk is facing bankruptcy. Denel used to be one of the best weapons manufacturers in the world. They designed and built the Cheetah fighter plane to combat the MIG 23 up to 27. The Olifant tank was the biggest, heaviest and fastest tank built for its era. The G5 canon they built could shoot a projectile with pin point accuracy up to 45 Km(28miles). They build the Nyala anti riot armoired vehicle, the Ratel infantry vehicle, the Rooikat reconnaissance vehicle and many more. Such a pity that such a strong company is brought down to its knees by corruption. Corruption is the biggest drug in Africa. Thank you for a good and informative channel. Ps. Dinel was formed from a conjunction of companies eg. grinigar, littleton engenering and others.

[@pauldbeer]

Pierre, net bietjie seker maak; The Cheetha fighter is not a SA design but a Israeli copy of the Kfir. The Olifant MkIA weight 54-Ton at the same time of its devellopment the Abrams pushed the 70 ton mark, Leapord Mk2A2 was in the 60 ton range as was the Brittish Chalanger. Also, Denel was simply a name change from Krygkor to try and loosen itself from the sanction busting done during the '70's & 80's. Oh, and Griniker was never part of Denel or Krygkor.

[@salty-006_7]

Rooivalk can also fly inverted. Does a back loop .

[@chrisspencer6502]

I can't believe you've missed RSA's defence sector forget the main battle tank. Mraps are what South Africa does best, sadly BAE land systems get the credit.

[@bryank5523]

ye MRAPS actually a South African invention if i'm not mistaken

[@BushmanAOD]

@@bryank5523 We still call them APC's, the yanks created a new product to market so the politicians and coroprations can rake in billions from the unsuspecting US Taxpayer ... oorah

[@Iglooboy1]

Just got to say love these videos 🖒🇬🇧

[@AviViljoen]

Great video Matsimus! Your commentary, as well as your pronunciation is spot-on!

[@briantaylor696]

Awe mense! have seen this beast at many a air show and those pilots make that thing flick and flack its impressive A.F to see. Peace from South Africa

[@springbok4015]

I appreciate this video. Thank you!

[@GregHartSk8er]

I am no expert but did see one of these up close at a local airfield. The power and agility in the air was very impressive - I would NOT like to be among ground troops having to face up against these machines!!

[@the_irish_gman2797]

Thanks a 1 000 000 for giveing us some spotlight.

[@samj.s3132]

Oi oi South Africa represent

[@cilius7774]

Proud to say my grandfather was involved with the design and building of the rooivalk in his time at Denel

[@theotrollip7142]

Great Vid! Cheers from South Africa!

[@gonzalez519]

That ending flyby was amazing!

[@martindevilliers4083]

Maybe what you did not know, the USAF refused to display their AH64-Apache at any airshow where the Rooivalk was in operation. This was mainly due to the aerobatic capability of this helicopter that can doe the loop and barrel roll at very low altitudes. Also, the one minor military credit you spoke of ended a 10-year civil war in one encounter with the Rooivalk, the rebels went to the negotiating table because of the damage this one attack.

[@bjjace1]

Another Bull Shit story from You lot. The USAF does not and has never operated the AH-64 Apache.

[@goodputin4324]

Apaches are used by the US Army, not the USAF 😂

[@rikussmit4733]

The Rooivalk is the best attack helicopter platform in the world. There's many things to prove this. Not only does it boast the speed record of any attack helicopter but also its special integrated transmission system which was also designed in South Africa allows this helicopter to fly upside down. drastically increasing the amount of moves its capable of and the only helicopter with this capability in the world. The heads up display system is the same one the Apache uses but upgraded because America actually bought that system from South Africa. That's right... and the only thing that might give the Apache a advantage over the Rooivalk is the Longbow system developed in Britain. If you really look into it you will find that this is the best in the world and its super cheap to maintain which also gives it a advantage in warfare. The flexibility of this platform is amazing.

[@pauldbeer]

Hallo Rikus. Jammer om tereg re wys maar dit is nodig om feite reg te hê. Die Rooivalk is verseker nie die eerste helikopter wat 'n loop of rol kon doen nie! Die helmit mounted display (HMD) is van Franse afkoms en die optika waarmee die wapen gerig en verkenning gedoen kan word is ook van Franse afkoms. Klein bietjie google kan my stellings bewys. Oo, en die spoed rekord vir "Attack helicopters" behoort aan die Russiese KA52 "Alligator"

[@gideonvanniekerk4252]

Australia and Turkey (even the UK) were very interested in this bird... but bigger companies played dirty.

[@pieterbezuidenhout2741]

Mostly bigger country called AMERICA.

[@JackFN_VR64]

@@pieterbezuidenhout2741 Also Airbus (Eurocopter) because of the Tiger. Denel does not have the capability to manufacture the engines + gearbox and which must still be sourced Eurocopter. According to a director at Denel, when Australia advertised for a new attack helicopter, Denel was warned by Eurocopter that Denel souldn't enter the compitition (against the Tiger), but Denel did so anyway. Eurocopter then told Denel that should the Rooivalk win the contract over the Tiger, Eurocopter "cannot guarantee" that they will produce engines and gearboxes for Denel's Roovalk sales to Australia.

[@jgcvdw1932]

I understand that Agusta did the same thing with a different Contract pertaining to the software.

[@erichpizer1]

YAnkees were self serving greedy cunts as usual.

[@BushmanAOD]

@@JackFN_VR64 Denel should have had a backroom meeting with the Aussies and come to an agreement! they could easily have co-produced a new engine and allowed the Aussies some leeway with a limited licence production of the Rooivalk, this would make them completelyn independent in terms of main mechanics. Ah well

[@KaalVoetKlong]

Appreciate you looking into some of our South African Military vehicles! Always nice seeing your countries efforts being showcased! Second video I have watched from you, next will be the Rooikat Vid. Thanks man!

[@whatthedeuce47d68]

Your name reminds me of primary school, going kaal voet..

[@KaalVoetKlong]

@@whatthedeuce47d68 Exactly what it means haha the bare foot kid haha Not a kid anymore though.

[@sandwich5344]

hmm, a very splendid Helicopter i would say! love your video's Bud! keep up the intresting stuff!

[@jdg5682]

SA went up against the soviet union for more than 2 dekades and never lost a large conflict.

[@jamalihamilton7866]

Do you know the way bruddah!.

[@moiggc]

Appreciate this video mate. Keep up the good work.

[@kobusdowney5291]

Thanx Mat! From SA. Plz do review the G6 arty gun. You'll love it!

[@hilgardgarfieldlinks2367]

You yell ! we shell like hell ! ⚡🔥⚡

[@nicholasgibbons]

Hi Matsimus, I haven't found corroborating sources but I read in a book last year this helicopter was in contention for the British Government's attack helicopter programme that eventually selected the WAH-64 Apache. I'll see if I can find some more sources.

[@pauldbeer]

Correct. The Rooivalk and Apache was in fact the two final contestants in this bid for the British Attach Heli. Rooivalk was eventually eliminated because the USA refused to sell the Hellfire missile to be integrated onto the Rooivalk. SA was in the process of developing the Makopa (ZT6) ATM but it was way off from being finalised. This led the British to select the Apache. I do think that politics must have also played a big role in this decision!

[@harrisonrawlinson4602]

Woah this seems pretty cool, not to be racist but I’m surprised to see such impressive and awesome gear designed and built by an African nation! Well done South Africa, much respect

[@Militaryheritage]

It was designed and build in the 1980/90s. You do the math on who designed it.

[@bryanhurd9955]

Миодраг Здравковић Liar u were never in Angola...I would love to meet u in combat...shit for brains

[@bryanhurd9955]

Миодраг Здравковић You are already dead ...you don't have to prove anything to me,you need to prove it to yourself...But... re your experiences in Angola that's a liar

[@MrGtubedude]

I mean what you are saying is hard for me to respond to so let’s start like this. South Africa is no different than the United States. The nation is very racist with a horrific racist past (like the US) and the whites in South Africa have separated the white and black communities and has tried keeping blacks in poor communities. In a way what you’re saying is kind of racist even though it sounds like you don’t mean to be, that’s because you’ve put you comment in a way where it sounds like you’re saying you’re surprised to see Africans being able to invent something good. But no worries mate, just a bit of history I thought you should know.

[@harrisonrawlinson4602]

I was not intending to start a debate about racism or incite hatred, obviously terrible terrible things happened in South Africa, I know this. Why do people have to get so heated on the internet and make blatantly false claims. Can we keep calm and appreciate this beautiful helicopter?

[@pimpinaintdeadho]

Great video. Keep em coming.

[@WellSpokenRedNeck]

Do the G6 155mm cannon

[@louisduplessis7110]

We (SA) developed the worlds first shoot and forget helmets also the helmet gun connection where the gun goes where the gunner/pilot looks

[@JB-tm9qb]

For the people not from South Africa, the sad part of this is that it was probably designed more than 30 years ago by skilled people who where removed from there jobs just because thy where white before it was fully developed. And like most things In South Africa this company is now going under. God help us as the rest of the world has turned a blind eye on what's happening in South Africa.

[@africanandproud6792]

@James Bond You probably go to church, believe in God, maybe even read the Bible and believe in the teachings of Jesus and yet you refer to God's creation as "black low IQ idiots". These are people who are made in the image of God. White supremacists are the most deluded group on earth. The hottest places in hell await you.

[@garrithsmith799]

It also was able to operate optimal in desserts. their air systems were pretty good for its time compared to other helicopters.