First African military aircraft makes maiden test flight

Local Source: France24 August 22, 2014

The first military aircraft to be fully developed in Africa has made its first test flight in Pretoria, South Africa, marking a milestone in the continent’s aviation history.

The versatile, multi-purpose aircraft was designed and built by two South African aeronautical companies – Aerosud and the Paramount Group.

A team of about 60 African engineers and technicians spent three years working on the first prototype. Of the aircraft’s 6,000 parts, 98 percent were designed using locally produced software.

The plane is described as being modest in both size and design. It consists of a helicopter fuselage with a double tail inspired by the bombers used during World War II and an antenna at the front whose shape resembles an insect’s stinger.

Designed for multiple roles, the aircraft can be used for anti-poaching missions and border patrols as well as anti-trafficking, anti-piracy, anti-insurgent and anti-terror operations among others.

Paramount Group Executive Chairman Ivor Ichikowitz described it as “the first military aircraft to be completely designed, tested and developed in Africa.”

He added that the aircraft can perform attack missions at a fraction of the cost that a helicopter gunship would require.