Rooikat
Rooikat | |
---|---|
MG4 7.62 mm machine guns; 8 x 81 mm smoke grenade dischargers[3] | |
Engine | 10-cylinder water-cooled diesel 414 kW (555 hp) |
Power/weight | 14.89 kW (19.97 hp)/t |
Suspension | 8×8 wheeled, Fully independent active trailing arm |
Operational range | 1000 km (621 mi) |
Maximum speed | Road: 120 km/h (75 mph) Off-road: 60 km/h (37 mph) |
The Rooikat (
Development history
Background
From the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s, the standard reconnaissance vehicle of the South African Defence Force was the Eland-90, a four-wheeled armoured car modelled closely after the Panhard AML-90.[5] However, the Eland was designed for border patrols and internal security, and proved ill-suited to countering tank warfare.[6] The Eland's limitations were first observed during combat in Operation Savannah, a 1975 South African incursion into Angola.[6] This led to its supplementation in the late 1970s with the much heavier, six-wheeled Ratel-90 infantry fighting vehicle. The Ratel proved to be a successful interim measure because it could both carry troops and provide fire support.[6]
In 1984, South Africa launched
As early as the mid-1970s, the
Three more contenders appeared in 1982: the Bismarck, the Cheetah Mk1, and the Cheetah Mk2. These prototypes were designed with technical assistance from a West German engineering firm,
The first Rooikats were manufactured by Sandock-Austral beginning in September 1987, and delivered to the South African Army for further tests by December. Another three were delivered in October 1988.[10] The Rooikat did not enter service in large numbers until August 1989, when a single South African armoured squadron began receiving it. Mass production commenced around mid-1990.[10]
Service
Upon its inception in 1994 the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) immediately ordered the retirement of the surviving Eland-90 fleet.[14] Nevertheless, some Elands remained with reserve units as late as 1996 until sufficient numbers of the Rooikat could be produced to phase them out.[15] The SANDF subsequently issued a requirement for another 66 Rooikats from Sandock-Austral, which had been absorbed by Land Systems OMC.[16] New SANDF doctrine placed an emphasis on the Rooikat's primary role of reconnaissance, as well as the harassment of enemy rearguard units. In a marked departure from the manoeuvre-oriented anti-tank tactics of the South African Border War, Rooikat crews were also trained to engage tanks only from defilade or otherwise static defensive positions.[16]
Just prior to
Proposed variants
Rooikat 105
In 1990 an upgrade and redesign programme was started by Reumech OMC to customise the Rooikat for the international market, and by 1994 the development of a Rooikat 105 prototype with a 105mm rifled gun was completed.[18]
The Rooikat 105 is designed for high mobility day and night combat operations. Passive image intensifiers and thermal imaging equipment for night driving, navigation and weapon deployment permit round-the-clock combat operations. The Rooikat 105 is equipped with a GT7 105mm anti-tank gun. The gun fires the full range of NATO full-pressure 105mm ammunition including generation I, II and III rounds. The gun, fitted with a 51-caliber thermal sleeve encased barrel, fires six rounds a minute. There are two 7.62mm machine guns, one co-axial to the main armament and one at the commander's position, for general purpose ground and air defence. The vehicle is equipped with two banks of 81mm smoke grenade launchers, mounted in a forward firing position on each side of the turret. The system is electrically operated. The smoke grenades form a dense protective smoke screen, which can be sustained using an exhaust smoke generator. The digital fire control system takes data from a suite of sensors and provides an automatic fire control solution. Automatic data input includes target range from a laser rangefinder, target speed and direction derived from tracking the target, crosswind speed, weapon tilt and the characteristics of the weapon. Manual data input includes ammunition type and environmental data. The fire control system allows the Rooikat to engage enemy targets while on the move across rough terrain. The time between laser ranging the target and firing is approximately two seconds. Three variations of fire directing systems are offered. The most complex system incorporates a primary stabilised gunner's sight, automatic computation and implementation of ballistic offset of the weapon, electro-mechanical gun control, stabilised main weapon, gunner's sight with day / night channel slaved to the main weapon and an independent panoramic commander's sight.[19][unreliable source?][20]
Rooikat ZA35 Self Propelled Anti-aircraft Gun
This Rooikat version was developed by ARMSCOR in the early 90s. The ZA-35 SPAAG is armed with two Lyttelton Engineering M-35 guns. These guns have a combined rate of fire at 1,100 rounds per minute and fire HE-FRAG rounds against air targets and AP-I against light armoured vehicles. The ZA-35 is fitted with an EDR 110 surveillance and tracking radar, which can track up to 100 air targets simultaneously. The antenna can be raised to a height of about 5 m (16 ft 5 in) for increased visibility, when the vehicle is stationary. It can provide targeting data to other nearby SPAAGs and air defence systems, which do not have radars. It is also fitted with a computerised fire control system, fully stabilised gunner's sight and a laser rangefinder.[21]
Rooikat SAM
The Rooikat SAM was intended to be used together with the Rooikat SPAAG, this ZA-HVM short-range SAM, would also have been based on the same chassis.[22]: 398
Rooikat 35/ZT-3
A prototype Rooikat 35 was also developed with a new turret to incorporate ZT-3 antitank missiles.[22]: 399
Technology demonstrators
One Rooikat was turned into a conventional vehicle electric drive technology demonstrator (CVED) and displayed at AAD2006 in Cape Town in September of that year. The CVED project involved HIT, IAD, Nezrotek, Hutchinson (France), Kessler Magnet Motor (Germany) and MTU (Germany). VEG Magazine reported in 2006 the vehicle was fitted with a power supply control system feeding eight wheel-hub mounted M67/0 electric units and a two-phase pneumatic gearbox.
Capability
- Can climb a 1 m (3 ft 3 in) earth vertical step.
- Can cross a 2 m (6 ft 7 in) wide trench at a crawl and 1 m (3 ft 3 in) @ 60 km/h (37 mph).
- Can ford water 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) deep.
- Can climb a gradient of 70 degrees.
- Can traverse a gradient of 30 degrees.
Variant table
Operators
See also
- Vehicles of comparable role, performance, and era
- B1 Centauro – (Italy)
- M1128 Mobile Gun System– (United States, Canada)
- Type 16 maneuver combat vehicle– (Japan)
- Vextra 105– (France)
References
- ^ a b "Customs, Traditions, History, and Insignia of the South African Armoured Corps" (PDF). Bloemfontein: South African Armour Association. 18 October 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
- ^ "Rooikat". South African Army. Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2009.
- ^ a b "Rooikat armoured car". DefenceWeb. Retrieved 26 June 2009.
- ^ a b Jane's Armour and Artillery, 2001–2002, Volume 23, pp. 244-345.
- ISBN 9781472806703.
- ^ a b c Warwick, Rodney. Operation Savannah: A Measure of SADF Decline, Resourcefulness, and Modernisation. Scientia Militaria, 2012, Volume 40 Issue 3 p. 364-377.
- ^ a b Lessons of the Border War
- ^ "Ratel teen tenk en". Port Elizabeth: International Veterans' Association/South African Forces Club. 2011. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
- ISBN 978-0-624-05410-8.
- ^ ISBN 978-1928211-17-4.
- ^ a b c d "Lesakeng". South African Armour Museum. 6 December 2012. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
- ^ a b "South Africa's impressive history in the design and manufacture of armoured vehicles". South African Engineering News. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
- ^ a b "Fact file: Rooikat armoured car". Defence Web. 21 January 2010. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
- ^ Armoured Car, Eland Mk7/90 (RSA) (Gate exhibit), South African Armour Museum, Bloemfontein: South African National Defence Force, 2014
- ^ SA Now. South African Communication Service, 1996, Volume 1 p. 24.
- ^ a b "South African Defence Review 1998" (PDF). Pretoria: South African Department of Defence. April 1998. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ^ "The O'Malley Archives". Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
- ^ "South African Army preparing immediate response force – IHS Jane's 360". Janes.com. 13 August 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
- ^ "Rooikat 105 Armoured Fighting Vehicle". Army Technology. 15 June 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
- ^ "Fact file: Rooikat armoured car". defenceWeb. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
- ^ ARG. "ZA-35 Prototype Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun". Military-Today.com. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
- ^ ISBN 0-00-4709950.
- ^ "home". Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
- ^ "Africa: Salvation or Despair" (PDF).
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Manufacturer's website (Accessed 28 July 2008)
- Factfile on Vehicle (Accessed 25 February 2009)
- Rooikat 76 Armoured Fighting Vehicle