See South Africa’s New Multi-Mission Combat Plane in Action
- Posted on September 27, 2011 at 12:10pm by
Buck Sexton
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When you think new combat planes, the U.S., Russia, and China come to mind. But for the first time in decades, South Africa has entered the world of aerial defense production.
Meet the AHRLAC, short for Advanced High Performance Reconnaissance Light Aircraft.
It’s a far cry from a MiG-29 or an F-35. But that’s the point. The AHRLAC was designed to be simple, cheap, and effective. It’s a homegrown, all-African made defense product intended to address needs of countries on the continent. It is being marketed as a dual use civilian/military craft, with humanitarian, military, and reconnaissance roles.
A full tank of gas gives it 7 hours in the sky, which makes it well suited to search and rescue, border patrol, and homeland security functions as well. While it is light and small enough to fill the role of a drone, it is a manned vehicle. This negates the need for advanced electronics and simplifies maintenance.
For developing countries with vast areas of land and hundreds of miles of border, jets and helicopters are generally too expensive and difficult to maintain. That’s precisely the market the Ahrlac is going after.
At a estimated price tag of $10 million dollars, the Ahrlac is set to be cheaper than combat helicopters and more versatile than light-weight prop planes. The relatively inexpensive price tag, coupled with its broad mission set, has its developers hoping for sales beyond the African continent, according to the WSJ, to include:
“Potential sales in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. [Manufacturers] Paramount and Aerosud say they have received interest from potential customers but decline to say from whom.”
The Ahrlac will be one of the first production aircraft to come out of South Africa since the Rooivaalk attack helicopter in the 1980′s. It’s success could spur countries other than the major arms manufacturers to fill niche defense needs with specifically tailored, innovative products.
Watch the promotional video below from Paramount Group, manufacturer of the Ahrlac:
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Comments (144)
SpankDaMonkey
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 1:45pm.
Report Post »One of those West Bank kids, could bring that thing down with a rock………………
JLGunner
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 2:38pmCan you imagine the movie Top Gun with every seen that had any aircraft in it was dubbed over with images of this “aircraft”.
Report Post »Ari Ben TZion
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 3:11pmThe plane looks a toy.
Now, if they could only stop the hundreds of babies that are being raped by men each year in South African, we could almost consider them part of the human race.
Report Post »BlackAce41
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 4:46pmThis look like the went use the base design of the OV-1A Bronco
Report Post »Mrtoohappy
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 4:59pmDidn’t The Match Box Toy company make that first?
Report Post »ddg7
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 5:22pm@Spankdamonkey…..lol.
Report Post »chazman
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 6:25pm… I wonder if it floats?
Report Post »Meyvn
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 6:49pmReminds me a little of the cross-eyed dude that flew around in MadMax and ate dog food.
Report Post »dap94
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 7:22pmhahahahahah! Awesome!
Report Post »Chuck Stein
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 9:22pmLooks like SOMEbody is worried enough about Herman Cain’s candidacy that they will post tripe as a comment about an airplane. Further encouraging signs for Mr. Cain!
Report Post »TX_45_ACP
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 9:57pm@Chuck Stein – Probably Encinom/Monicne at it again. I swear that there are about 20 accounts with the same writing style…stupid style.
Report Post »teamarcheson
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 10:32amIt will be good for use against un-armed poor people.
Report Post »mobynowak
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 12:17pmOr maybe they can use one of the 20,000 missing S2A missiles that Obama is responsible for allowing to vanish with his Kinetic Military Action.
Report Post »Chutz
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 2:51pm@ Bible quotin‘ science fearin’ conservative american
Do you ever have anything constructive to say? All you do is bash people, why even post at all.
Report Post »ChiefGeorge
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 1:44pmWhats the point of even having the thing. It would not last two minutes against most forces. South Africa has gone to the dogs as far as I am concerned. They’ve squandered their own people because of racism now running the country. They’ll never be anything in the anals of human development.
Report Post »Chuck Stein
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 8:10pmummm . . . “annals”, right?
Report Post »BobtheMoron
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 10:34pmI think he/she really meant anals as in rectums, arse holes or anal orifices.
Report Post »TroyBray
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 6:38pmSouth Africa USED to be a country alot like Israel, i.e. a world full of enemies, back against the ocean, and 12 people to defend it. Their homegrown arms industry reflects that. Israel‘s Merkava MBT couldn’t win a war in Europe, but it can be totally destroyed and the crew will survive. Armscorp, the old name of the South African arms manufacturer, has made some amazing weapons, including a wheeled main battle tank that successfully took on soviet built tanks (wheels are cheaper to build and are more fuel efficient than tracks). They also produced armored personnel carriers that could be destroyed by landmines without a single passenger being injured. One exec I met explained to me that his son was in the military, so he was going to produce the best equipment he could. This plane isn’t designed to take on F18s, it is designed to do what the South Africans need it to do- light strike, recon, and light supply missions. It can probably do that fairly well, at least as well as the A/V 10 Bronco did for the US (it couldn’t take on an F18 either).
Report Post »meeknotweak
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 1:39pmLets see if I get this straight,
Report Post »2 women posing as fighter jocks, = prove it please, show me those modelling I mena flying skills. The cost well wow there is bang for your buck right there, say no more. This joke (I hope it really is) needs to be bought by those with money to burn who hate casinos.Now to the video, – I mean really, volcanos, whales, the world, 3D modeling and a flypast, that will make me whip out the moolah right there. I cant wait to see what that 50Cal or discharging the rockets will do to the airframe and the pilots pucker factor, I DO want to see it go into reverse when those rockets or 50 cal open up. LOL. Also for 3rd world and “developing nations (as in African continent) go and get a handout from scandanavia or the IMF, then they can continue to strafe and kill the unarmed enemy. The fact that they are promoted as “South African” shows how low South Africa has finally stooped.
Hey South Africa Ghaddaffi’s enemies are now in power you can sell to them also.
thank you Blaze for making my afternoon light hearted
nuttyvet
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 2:37pm@Meeknotweak – I flew with numerous heroic female pilots so eat your words dirtbag!
Report Post »DragoonChris
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 4:06pmMeek you are a fool and a blight on all Conservatives. Female pilots do a fantastic job at supporting the men on the ground.
Report Post »Ballot_Box_Revolution
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 1:27pmlooks like a “smart car”. probably performs as well as one too.
Report Post »gaittec
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 1:22pmOnly good thing if it’s yours, you won’t lose more than two men at a time.
Report Post »hellnomo
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 6:09pmYou are forgetting the AWOL factor, “Surrrrre….. I will fly the mission, just let me drop by my house to get a few things and I PROMISE I will be right back… no no don’t wait up….cant wait to fly….”.
Report Post »melvinshapiro
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 1:21pmYou can get 20 PROVEN Cessnas or Long EZs for the (proposed!) price of one of these….. right now. And if you go to http://www.trade-a-plane.com you can get 50 or 60 of them for the price of just one of these boondoggles. And at that price…. who cares if the occasional one gets shot down? By the way, those can be flown via wireless…. right now, too.
Report Post »meeknotweak
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 1:32pmDead on sir,
Report Post »This joke needs to be bought by those with money to burn, I want to see it go into reverse when those rockets or 50 cal open up. LOL. Also for 3rd world and “developing nations (as in African continent) they can continue to strafe and kill the unarmed enemy. The fact that they are promoted as South African shows how low Soth Africa has stooped. What a comical promotional video
Ne_FAL
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 1:53pmYou can’t get those planes with sensor package , .30 cal machine guns ,rails for rockets, high end gps /comm equipment for the price of a used plane . As for the“ it can be shot down by small arms ” so can our expensive very complicated helicopters. The complaint of what do they do after they spot something ,answer : get on the radio & report the location to ground forces or even for grins & giggles on-call ARTILLERY 8*} cause nothing says get outa my country you illegal alien like a 155mm artillery round exploding over your head.
Report Post »Balladeer
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 2:39pmok interesting…though it did remind of teh old Bronco planes ..
http://mamutong.com/wp-content/uploads/gov10.jpg
Report Post »Chuck Stein
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 8:13pmI was thinking the same thing. This sort of plane can do a lot of missions — but $10 million a copy?? That is nuts.
Report Post »Reavin
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 10:07pm@Ne Fal
You can certainly equip rocket launchers, advanced gps, etc on a Cessna Super Skymaster (think Bat 21) for easily 1/10 of the cost (including the plane) as buying just one of these things and have much more utility, as well. $10 million for a fancy ultralight/sport plane is stupid even by Gov’t standards.
You can get an Icon Amphibious Sport Plane (which is about the same size/specs as the one here for $139k and equip it for faaaar less than $10 million.
Report Post »Thomas Paine
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 1:10pmBoarder patrol yes, Combat no.
Report Post »blazingaway
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 1:01pmStupid waste of time. When you spend 60 seconds of a 2 minute video showing me nothing about the plane it means they have nothing and are producing nothing of substance … end of story on this dog that won’t hunt
Report Post »TMan2020
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 12:57pmThey forgot to mention that small arms can bring it down from the sky.
Report Post »thegreatcarnac
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 12:48pmIt patrols borders…then what?
Report Post »UGrev
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 1:00pmIt gets shot down by some kids with bottle rockets..
Report Post »Coffeehead
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 1:04pmIt drops savage German shepherd dogs on little parachutes.
Report Post »JLGunner
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 2:31pmIt annoys the hell outa people with the sound of its engine or people laugh themselves to death when they see it. Very humane weapon. “snicker”
Report Post »thegreatcarnac
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 12:46pmIt patrols borders. That it good. Then what?
Report Post »DanWesson455
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 12:49pmOn our Border you just count the heads and say hmmmm more votes next year!
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 2:34pm@ Coffeehead
Report Post »Didn’t the Spanish do something like that in the New World?
CHULAIGUY
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 12:44pmLooks like an updated OV-10 from Viet Nam era
Report Post »USAF72
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 1:00pmThat’s the first thing I thought when seeing the picture. Just a ripoff of the OV-10.
Report Post »J.C. McGlynn
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 1:03pmI thought I was the only person left to remember “The Bronco.”
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 2:14pmI thought of the OV10.
If you have air superiority, little plane like that can do a lot for soldiers on the ground.
I had heard that border patrol or someone was using the OV10. Got nothing to back the up with.
Report Post »Dismayed Veteran
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 3:31pmI would love the USAF if they brought the Spad back. When we called in for air support and the Spad showed up we were happy grunts. I bet the Spad could patrol our borders fairly well.
Report Post »Binkley
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 5:08pmSame thing that came to my mind. Doesn’t quite have the speed that the OV-10 had, and lacks a lot of payload of the OV-10. But the endurance is better.
Report Post »Chuck Stein
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 8:16pmThe first concept of the OV-10 was for armament of a 106mm recoilless. For some reason, they were not built & equipped for that. It still would be an awesome (and cheap) weapon system.
Report Post »Lars Skipole
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 12:43pmLooks like a Cessna Mixmaster :)
Report Post »BOMUSTGO
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 3:50pmLooks like the Cessna without the front engine and the side by side seats.The tail looks more like the Cessna’s than the OV10 Bronco.
Report Post »jkilson
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 12:41pmit would be great for patroling our boarders… and at the price… very cost effective!
Report Post »willbedone
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 12:41pmAll done without the over-site of the FAA, and large (intentional) budget overruns. This is another nail in the coffin of The United States as an arms merchant. With that said, Our government contractors with large sales at stake will somehow make for the demise of this product.
We should import these for our internal use. They would be great for border patrol, pipeline/ powerline inspection, With this platform it may well be a good ag-plane.
Report Post »ChiefGeorge
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 1:47pmIts the road to the Madmax flying machines that are left over in this futuristic setting. I think they ended up tossing molotov cocktails out of the thing on the ghouls below.
Report Post »dpselfe
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 12:40pmI see this plane, and I’m strangely reminded of the word “PULL!”…………..
Report Post »begtodiffer
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 12:55pmGood one.
Report Post »PerfectBrunoise
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 12:40pmSow moving prop driven aircraft. Good target for all of those shoulder fired missles thatbalwaysnseem to pop up in news reels about African terrorists/militias/drug lords.
Report Post »Joisey
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 12:48pmExactly. That thing is just S.A.M. bait, and a joke compared to an F-18. A piece of crap that is only good as a cheap platform for gunning down crowds of unarmed civilians………..Hmmmmmm.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 2:32pmJoisey
You use it where you have air superiority. It might not work now. Check out how well the OV10 worked in Vietnam
17 F18 & 10 OV10 might work out better than 18 F18s.
Report Post »iac
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 12:33pmSo it’s suitable for border patrol too ?
Report Post »Maybe we should foreward this news item to US Immigration !
Scaz
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 12:53pmIt’s suitable for border patrol………………..if you’re in to that sort of thing, of course. :)
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 1:02pmWe have everything we need to secure our borders now..except the will.
Report Post »Mandors
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 12:32pmFox one, baby. Good night.
Report Post »tbl10
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 12:32pmWe will take 20 of them for the Texas Border please. More effective then the Federal Government,
Report Post »chubster
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 12:32pmfold up the wings and you can park it in your garage. Bet you can land it in Walmarts parking lot!
Report Post »I.Gaspar
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 12:30pmI want one of these for my 60 mile roundtrip commute in the NYC area.
Report Post »I could avoid the bridge and tunnel tolls…and could thin out some of the leftist neighborhoods at the same time.
Wonder if you can get 5 year 0.9% financing?
Armatree
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 12:25pmI’m sure it will be great for third world countries. But no match for the good old U.S.A.
Report Post »willbedone
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 12:45pmI would not be too sure about that. Aircraft are like hammers, sometimes you need a big heavy, and sometimes you need a small and light. America has been focusing on the macho heavy plane for way too long.
Report Post »Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 12:22pmAt least it flies and looks like a plane, no duct tape, and no gawdy beads. Plus it doesn’t have 20 people hanging off the side, truly a step up for the third world, but it looks a lot like the observer planes we retired 30 years ago. In another decade, they will be building the Chrysler K cars, and the Fiero. Here comes the bell bottoms.
Report Post »nnewby
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 12:34pmI does look like the old O-2 with the weapons of the OV-10.
Report Post »http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_O-2_Skymaster
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Rockwell_OV-10_Bronco
M-Theory
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 1:15pmJust a point of clarification: South Africa isn’t a third world country. It’s surrounded by third world countries and has two third world countries plopped inside it like islands, but it is not considered third world because it’s not economically underdevelped. Before we get too condescending, we should take the time to remember that they were also the first to develp the artificial heart….
Report Post »Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 2:17pmAnd last to end aparthied. Just because you got cool toys and smart people doesn’t move you up the ladder. Half their people still live in utter poverty and slums, and don’t even compare their poverty to ours, not on the same level.
Report Post »Lloyd Drako
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 4:00pmSouth Africa is a first world country (mostly white) plopped on top of a third world population (mostly black). One legacy of the apartheid era is a well-developed arms industry, which gives SA an opportunity to capitalize on weapons exports to appropriate markets. But weapons are only part of it: I would not be surprised to find South African autos and other high-value-added civilian manufactures entering world markets before too long. They should be welcomed and encouraged; it is exactly this sort of thing that offers the main hope of lifting the majority of the people out of poverty. Otherwise, the majority may be seduced by the redistributionist “struggle” ideology offered by the likes of Julius Malema.
Report Post »Gashouse Gorilla
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 12:18pmCool! I”ll take two!
Report Post »