Rooikat AFV
Encyclopedia
The Rooikat is a wheeled armoured fighting vehicle
built in South Africa
for the South African Army
. It was designed for combat reconnaissance and seek and destroy operations. Its secondary roles include combat support, anti-armour and anti-guerrilla operations. The Rooikat was used for deep penetration missions across the border, and the wheeled design was needed for speed and to counter sandy desert conditions that might slow tanks and tracked vehicles.
the Rooikat came too late for the war in Angola
. It was designed to incorporate lessons learned from the bush war.
One was turned into a conventional vehicle electric drive technology demonstrator (CVED) and displayed at AAD2006 in Cape Town in September of that year. The CVED project involved LMT, HIT, IAD, Nezrotek, Hotchinson (France), Kessler Magnet Motor (Germany) and MTU (Germany). VEG Magazine reported in 2006 the vehicle was fitted with a power supply control system feeding eight wheel-hub mounted M67/0 electric units and a two-phase pneumatic gearbox.
Armoured fighting vehicle
An armoured fighting vehicle is a combat vehicle, protected by strong armour and armed with weapons. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked....
built in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
for the South African Army
South African Army
The South African Army is the army of South Africa, first formed after the Union of South Africa was created in 1910.The South African military evolved within the tradition of frontier warfare fought by commando forces, reinforced by the Afrikaners' historical distrust of large standing armies...
. It was designed for combat reconnaissance and seek and destroy operations. Its secondary roles include combat support, anti-armour and anti-guerrilla operations. The Rooikat was used for deep penetration missions across the border, and the wheeled design was needed for speed and to counter sandy desert conditions that might slow tanks and tracked vehicles.
Production history
Designed to replace the ElandEland Mk7
The Eland is a South African light armoured car based on the Panhard AML. Its permanent 4x4 drive gives it its mobility, and it can carry either a 90 mm quick firing low pressure gun, or a 60 mm breech loading mortar as main weapons...
the Rooikat came too late for the war in Angola
Angolan Civil War
The Angolan Civil War was a major civil conflict in the Southern African state of Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with some interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. Prior to this, a decolonisation conflict had taken...
. It was designed to incorporate lessons learned from the bush war.
One was turned into a conventional vehicle electric drive technology demonstrator (CVED) and displayed at AAD2006 in Cape Town in September of that year. The CVED project involved LMT, HIT, IAD, Nezrotek, Hotchinson (France), Kessler Magnet Motor (Germany) and MTU (Germany). VEG Magazine reported in 2006 the vehicle was fitted with a power supply control system feeding eight wheel-hub mounted M67/0 electric units and a two-phase pneumatic gearbox.
Capability
- Can climb a 1m earth vertical step.
- Can cross a 2m wide trench at a crawl 1m @ 60 km/h.
- Can ford water 1,5m deep.
- Can climb a gradient of 70 degrees.
- Can traverse a gradient of 30 degrees.
External links
- Manufacturer's website (Accessed 28 July 2008)
- Factfile on Vehicle (Accessed 25 February 2009)
- Rooikat 105 Wheeled Armoured Fighting Vehicles
- Rooikat 76 Armoured Fighting Vehicle