Development began in 1984 for a light attack, anti-armour helicopter to meet a
South African Air Force requirement. The Rooivalk has twin tandem seats, 4 bladed main rotor with twin Topaz turboshaft engines mounted high on the rotor pylon, 5 bladed tail rotor, stub wings for weapons fit, nose-aimed chin gun and a fixed tricycle undercarriage. A low risk approach was adopted by basing the dynamics on the
Alouette III and proving various home grown assemblies on modified
Pumas before integration into the programme. It is designed for ease of maintenance while operating away from base. First flight 11 Feb 1990.
From the Alpha XH-1 technology demonstrator, the lessons were learned and incorporated into 3 CSH-2 prototypes. The XDM test programme focussed on dynamics, infra-red signature reduction and performance. The second (ADM) concentrated on the avionics, weapons and cockpit layout and interface while the EDM was an engineering test bed, principally for engine development working towards a derivative of the Makila IK-2. A static rig was also built. First production came off the line toward the end of 1998.
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