South Africa Hopes To Boost Troubled Attack Helicopter Program

As the United States re-evaluates its arms sales policy in the midst of the war against terror, Other nations are beginning to emerge as sources for advanced weapon purchases. Take South Africa, for instance. Come Monday, a military team from Brazil will be in Johannesburg to window-shop for attack helicopters and fighter aircraft. The Sunday Times, based in South Africa, reports this is the latest foray by Brazilian military officials to South Africa after a spate of diplomatic and commercial contacts.

If the expedition by Brazilian Air Force chief Lieutenant-Brigadier Luiz Bueno pays off, it could see Brazil purchase the troubled Denel Rooivalk attack helicopter that South Africa has battled to sell abroad.

British officials expressed some interest in the South African attack copter, but the Sunday Times reports that may have been a ruse on London's part. The Rooivalk appeared to have been used by the British merely as a bargaining chip at the 1996 Farnborough defense show to drive down the price of its competitor, the Boeing-made, American-operated Apache attack helicopter, which boasts a superior Hellfire missile system.

So far, the only Rooivalks flying are the 12 stationed with 16 Squadron at the Bloemspruit Air Force Base near Bloemfontein. Their asking price is believed to be about $25-million each. Also up for view by Bueno are Denel's two-seater Cheetah D fighter and the single-seater Cheetah C, which are due to be replaced by the British Aerospace/Saab-supplied Gripen, starting in 2006. Denel Aviation Division group manager Theo Kleynhans said this week that " it's an air force to air force interaction: our air force is inviting theirs to flight-test the Rooivalk."

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