Denel Rooivalk ARGOS-II Upgrade - On Sight

Surbaissemaxxing · July 4, 2025, 11:16pm

Would you like to see this in-game?

Yes
No (Explain why)

0 voters

Suggestion No.84

G’day lads. I want to suggest an upgraded Rooivalk, namely featuring newer ARGOS-II optics, as well as being displayed with A-Darter’s :)

Description:

Spoiler

The Denel Rooivalk is a South African attack helicopter developed for combat missions, especially in rough African environments. It features a tandem cockpit layout, with crash-resistant airframe design and armored crew protection. Powered by two Turbomeca Makila 1K2 turboshaft engines, it reaches speeds up to 309km/h and operates at service altitudes up to 10000ft. Its armament includes a chin-mounted 20mm cannon, air-to-air and anti-tank missiles like the Mokopa, and 70mm rocket pods. Avionics include thermal imaging, laser rangefinder, helmet-mounted sights, and electronic countermeasures. This one was presented during AAD 2016, which gave it much better ARGOS-II optics, replacing its older ones.

History:

Spoiler

Development of the Rooivalk began in 1984 under Atlas Aircraft Corporation, responding to South Africa’s need for a domestically produced attack helicopter due to international arms embargos during the Border War. The initial prototype, XH-1 Alpha, modified from the Alouette III, served as a test platform for tandem cockpit design and weapons integration.

In the late 1980s, further experimental platforms, the XTP-1 and XTP-2, were built from SA 330 Puma airframes to test avionics, flight systems, and combat capabilities.

The first true Rooivalk prototype flew on 11 February 1990. Despite technical progress, political and budgetary shifts delayed the program, with final delivery of 12 Mk 1 units to the South African Air Force spanning from 1998 to 2011, assigned to 16 Squadron. In 2013, Rooivalk helicopters participated in UN combat operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2016, Denel planned upgrading existing aircraft to Mk 1.1 standard, featuring enhanced avionics, reliability improvements, and survivability systems. This didn’t happen (as far as I’m aware), however at the same year during AAD 2016, the Rooivalk 671 was shown to be using an ARGOS-II optic instead of it’s older one. It was displayed in it’s white UN colors. Additionally, it was displayed with a A-Darter, something which wasnt shown for over 20 years.

Armaments:

Spoiler

Weapons that older variants carried but is still capable of using*

20mm GI2 cannon

Mokopa ATGM (SAL/IIR/mmW) (Personally, due to the UK lacking a heli with IR missiles, I’d recommend for this to come with IIR Mokopas)

Hellfire SAL ATGM*

Brimstone mmW ATGM*

HOT-3 ATGM*

Ingwe ATGM*

A-Darter AAM (can be seen on the left side below the AAM rail, pictures will be shown below)

Mistral AAM

FZ49 Rockets

Fuel tanks

HMD

Countermeasures

MAW

ARGOS-II Optics

Specifications:

Spoiler

The Rooivalk has a length of 18.73m and a height of 5.19m. It has an empty weight of 5730kg and a MTOW of 8450kg. It is powered by the same 2 Makila 1K2 engines, producing up to 2301hp per engine. Because of this, it can go up to 309km/h. Additionally, it has a low detectability