AHRLAC (South Africa)

[kaiserbill]

Not every mission can be solved by throwing a drone at it. There is rather too much of an obsession at the moment in thinking drones are the answer to every mission requirement.

This.
Although there is a long history of UAV vehicles used in South African military service over the decades, the designers still felt there was a need for this type of platform. (Which btw also had a scaled down UAV version mooted, to be possibly used alone, as well as in the loyal wingman config with the Ahrlac/Mwari if I recall correctly. This was called the Mwewi, I think)

Edit: Compton Effect posted a pic and report of the UAV in Reply 30 earlier on this thread.

 

[yasotay]

A tactical UAV without link to the control station does not do anything and usually returns to base. A manned platform without link to a "control station" continues mission. A UAV that believes it has received a legitimate order to kill friendly tanks/trucks/people will methodically do so until out of ammunition, a manned platform that might mistake friendly forces usually stops when the screaming on the radio starts. That is why they do detailed mission briefs. A UAV that believe it has received a legitimate order to role 180 degrees, pull 90 degrees, go to full power and accept no further commands will do so. A manned platform might ask for clarification before disobeying that order.

Now before someone starts the diatribe on my anachronistic thoughts, I am all about UAS and their increasing roles, but they like anything else, are not the panacea of warfare.

Anyway this is a thread about a South African aircraft.

 

[compton_effect]

Nyusi receives first ISR planes from Paramount

First operational deployment of the Mwari will be in support of the Counter-Insurgency operations in Mozambique's Cabo Delgado Province.

 

[Grey Havoc]

Paramount Group sells nine Mwari spy, combat aircraft

The South African company has sold nine short-takeoff-and-landing aircraft to multiple air forces.

www.defensenews.com

 

[LVisingr]

Any guess who the customer(s) could be? Nigeria? Angola? UAE?

 

[Grey Havoc]

So many possibilities at the moment, what with the way the world is going to hell in a handbasket.

 

[TomS]

Any guess who the customer(s) could be? Nigeria? Angola? UAE?

We know Mozambique is one of the customers. If "one is an African Air Force" implies that the other is NOT African, then we probably need to look to the Middle East.

UAE is probably not it -- they have the Iomax Archangels, which are larger but would seem to fill the same basic role. (They used to have AT-800s, but those seem to have been passed on to other regional air forces).