December next year is when three Rooivalk combat support helicopters now back in South Africa are expected to return to service.
That’s the official word from the Directorate Corporate Communication (DCC) of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) as supplied by SA Air Force (SAAF) Helicopter Systems, headed by Brigadier General Alec Kitley.
The three locally built helicopters were returned to Air Force Base (AFB) Waterkloof earlier this month (December) aboard chartered Il-76s after standing idle “for about three years” the DCC response to a defenceWeb inquiry reads in part.
The three Rooivalks are along with eight others on the strength of AFB Bloemspruit-based 16 Squadron. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since 2013, they, along with a pair of SAAF Oryx medium transport helicopters, formed the South African composite helicopter unit (CHU) and supported United Nations (UN) operations “extensively”.
The home-grown South African combat support helicopters arrived in the DRC a year after four Ukrainian Mi-24 attack helicopters were detached to the UN mission MONUSCO. The Rooivalk was requested for convoy/escort service ahead of the Russian manufactured Mi-24 on numerous occasions.
Reduced taskings for rotorcraft by MONUSCO starting in 2020 saw the 16 Squadron helos grounded. As per the DCC statement: “They have not flown in DRC for about three years and as result this had an impact on maintenance ground runs, leading to slight deterioration of the helicopters”.
“Inspections by 16 Squadron technical staff and Rooivalk specialists from Denel Aerospace were conducted on 3 and 4 December to determine the maintenance required to restore them to a safe flying condition. Upon completion of the maintenance the helicopters will be returned to service.
“The maintenance timeline is estimated to be completed by December 2025,” the statement, signed off by DCC Director, Rear Admiral (JG) Prince Tshabalala, reads.
