"South Africa's Dirt-Cheap War Machine" Topic

"The Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon and the Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker dominate the headlines when it comes to the combat aircraft market, but there are many places in the world where such extravagant machines are just not needed. In certain parts of the world, even relatively cheap dedicated ground attack aircraft like a U.S. Air Force A-10 Warthog or even the Russian-built Su-25 Frogfoot are overkill. One such market is Africa—and a South African defense conglomerate called the Paramount Group hopes to take advantage of that market gap with their indigenously developed Advanced High-Performance Reconnaissance Light Aircraft (AHRLAC).

While it is true that some African nations have purchased expensive high-end Russian fighters like the Su-30, most of those countries save for Algeria don't have the capability to maintain or operate large fleets of Flankers. Algeria has forty-four very capable Su-30MKAs in service and placed an order for fourteen more jets, but the North African nation is relatively well developed and well resourced. Angola too has a fleet of 18 Su-30Ks on order. Uganda operates a half dozen Su-30Ks—but it doesn't have the resources to really operate or maintain those jets. The Flankers are essentially an expensive status symbol for a country that can ill-afford it…"
Full article here
link

Amicalement
Armand

Looks a lot like some of the COIN aircraft that the US operated in Vietnam.

It looks like something that could be shot down with harsh words.

Some amazing Western coin aircraft were the Cessna Dragonfly and the OV-10 Bronco- each was light, but built to sustain damage.

Single engine seems a non-starter for survivability. I would think that the modern approach would be to start with two engines to better sustain damage like the A-10.

The African continent doesn't fight big wars like in Europe or Middle East.

South Africa (and formerly Rhodesia) have a long history of bush wars using small light aircraft and vehicles to conduct search & destroy operations.

Works when you are locked into low intensity conflicts and subjected to arms embargoes.

They have a memory of what works and can carry on that tradition easier. Their African counterparts get stuck into the problem of one-upsmanship and needing to show off heavy arms. This is contributed by rampant corruption and the bribery common to arms dealers.

"The African continent doesn't fight big wars like in Europe or Middle East…"

But my friend… South Africa has fought WW2 shoulder to shoulder with the Allied…

Who knows if they need their Army/Navy/Air Force again in a big conflict?…

Amicalement
Armand

WWII was 70 years ago. Back then, SA was part of the British Dominion and the King of England was head of state.

SA military history since Apartheid era has been to fight LICs against insurgents like the ANC and border battles. They also operated for decades under arms embargoes due to Apartheid policy. Their military experience has shown light & multi-use equiptment to be very effective.

Of course they have modern & effective military and they know how to use it. Rise of Russia and China has given them concerns.

South Africa has been very creative and effective in their development of LIC-oriented systems. I expect this little number might give the Super Tucano a run for its money.