agaugust:
NAF chief in Pakistan today, meets PAF.....surely will talk about the JF-17 Thunder.

Henry240:


I do agree with most of what you said. Would politics make it happen?".......... I seriously doubt this.


Was looking at INS kochi ( India's largest home built ship) and i was wondering when an African country would be able to build and deliver such size of a ship for our individual Navies.

 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItzGTSncqO0&feature=youtu.be

jln115:

We operate in different geopolitical spheres, so wouldn't really call Nigeria our rival! But obviously being the 2 of most influential/Powerful countries in Africa there would be some sort of competition between our Countries. Our Government has made it clear that we want to play a regional role, thus Nigeria from Geopolitical standpoint will definitely not be our rival.

Also with Buhari as president i see much better relations between our Governments...lets be honest the PDP and ANC never really got along!!

Our SADC neighbours also don't have the financial means to purchase/produce a sufficient amount of Rooivalk to restart the production line.

Honestly Nigeria is the perfect partner, they are in desperate need of Gunships(so are we), they have the Financial resources to tackle such a project and we also open up a whole new market in North and West Africa(Although slightly limited).

lionel4power:
the fact that SA doesnt have the rooivalk in sufficient number for internal use is a negating fact.
My point is, if you dont have enough of something yourself, you wont expect anybody to take you serious. If SA had acquired lets say about 40 units of the rooivalk then other countries will be interested. But to be honest you bought only 12 unit, and the one you lost wasnt even replaced. It has killed the publicity aspect of the whole thing.
I dont want to sound pessimistic or condesending but NOBODY is buying the roolvalk anytime soon.

lionel4power:
the fact that SA doesnt have the rooivalk in sufficient number for internal use is a negating fact.
My point is, if you dont have enough of something yourself, you wont expect anybody to take you serious. If SA had acquired lets say about 40 units of the rooivalk then other countries will be interested. But to be honest you bought only 12 unit, and the one you lost wasnt even replaced. It has killed the publicity aspect of the whole thing.
I dont want to sound pessimistic or condesending but NOBODY is buying the roolvalk anytime soon.

jln115:

Us acquiring only 12 had nothing to do with its capabilities, we simply couldn't afford to buy more considering at $40 mil per unit, its more expensive than an Apache at the time.

For all intensive proposes the Rooivalk basically out classes all its competitors, it can fly further, higher,faster, carry more weight ect ect

The reason it lost out in Turkey, was 1. It wasn't in service yet, and thus it hadn't proven it self yet and 2. Turkey being a NATO country and all and the Rooivalk using a basically a Eurocopter engine which was in direct competition with the Rooivalk , France announced it won't support a bid where Turkey acquired Rooivalk instead of its fellow NATO countries product.

The Rooivalk has all but proved itself after the past year or so, so much that Denel has seriously considered restarting production following alot of international attention. Denel apparently already has 2 buyers lined up, and it seems Hungry is also interested in the Rooivalk.

lionel4power:
the base capability/perfomance of Attack Hellicopters SOMETIMES doesnt really matter that much, if you look at contemporary AHs from the far east to the far west you'll notice that perfomance are closely matched.ceilings, range, speed, maneovebility e.t.c doesnt really count. What stands out is usually the whistles and bells. I.e sensors, avionics, comms et al or ruggedity.
Look at the much revered MI-24 HIND, why did it get more customer than other helicopters with better performance, even though it has inferior performance and sensors?
Simple. Its Russian and its built to last. It will outlive the buyers themselves. Thats a strong selling point.
Look at the Apache, it has all the whistles and bells, you are guarranteed of getting support for it. Thats its selling point.
Look at the Tiger AH, its versatility is its selling point. It can perform air-to-ground, air-to-air or just RECON EFFECTIVELY without much hassle.
The T-129 ATAK is known for its digital nature and easy interaction/inter-operability with other unrelated weapons platforms. Thats its selling point.
.
Now it begs the question, what is the selling point of the rooivaik? Yes it has the performance, whistle and bells.
But why would i want to buy it over the MI-24 or the T-129 or the APACHE? .
.
I might consider if there is TOT.
.
By the way when you parade the rooivalk as a direct descendant of the puma what do you expect? People picture the puma as a huge lumbering beast. Its a negative publicity.

denisfidha:
Police training camp in Garissa - I think its high time the police ditched the military jacket for something more original, i've seen so many foreign papers refer to the police as military, This camo doesn't even match the terrain

rugged7:
DEFENCE HQ NIGERIA ‏
Troops are continuing their advance towards the main camp of the BH sect in Sambisa Forest
The troops also discovered a tunnel the sect uses as hideout from military air strikes

frumentius:


Good hunting to the men of the NA. What's with the brightly-coloured vest on the mortarman?