Rooivalk “makes a difference” in the DRC
Date: 29 October 2013
The following is a rough ttranslation of an Afrikaans article that appeared in Die Burger newspaper.
More than 13 years after the first prototype of the Rooivalk attack helicopter flew in South Africa, the first one flew to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) this past weekend.
It will be the first time that the helicopter will be used in the role for which it was developed in the first place.
According Helmoed-Römer Heitman, a military analyst, it is about time and he believes the helicopter will make a huge difference in the attack ability of the intervention brigade in the DRC .
Two Rooivalks of 16 Squadron at AFB Bloemspruit outside Bloemfontein will soon be flown to the east of the DRC.
South Africa, Tanzania and Malawi's soldiers are all part of the United Nations (UN) intervention brigade to bring the M23 rebels in the east under control.
The presence of the Rooivalk could not come at a more opportune time. In the increasing violence, one of the Tanzanian soldiers was killed in a skirmish with M23 at Kiwanja and Rutshuru, 25 kilometers north of Goma, this weekend.
Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General, condemned the incident yesterday. He said the UN will "take all necessary actions" to protect civilians in the area against the rebels.
The Tanzanian soldier was shot dead while the brigade's soldiers asssited the Congolese army against the rebels.
The action came after the UN last week warned that the tension in the area was increasing, with several battles between the Congolese and the rebels.
The South Africans will provide air support in the form of a total of three Rooivalk and five Oryx helicopters, four of which are already in Goma.
According to Heitman, it is good news that the Rooivalk will see action, but there are flaws with the helicopter's armor.
Firstly, it will be deployed without missiles deployed, which means it will only be able to shoot with rockets and a 20 mm cannon.
"In a situation where you really need precision weapons to stop civilians being accidentally shoot while you are actually aiming for air support, the missiles would have been invaluable," Heitman said.
Limited funds has resulted in the missilesnot being part of the helicopter's weapons.
"I do not think it was wise to paint the Rooivalk white and thereby be turned into a giant target," he said.
