The Denel Rooivalk is an attack helicopter manufactured by Denel Aviation of South Africa. Rooivalk is Afrikaans for "Red Falcon", which refers to the lesser kestrel. Development of the type began in 1984 by the Atlas Aircraft Corporation, its development is closely connected to the Atlas Oryx transport helicopter, both aircraft being based on the Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma and having started development at the same time.
Denel Rooivalk
A Rooivalk at the Farnborough Airshow in 1994
A Rooivalk at AFB Ysterplaat in Cape Town, South Africa
Two SAAF Rooivalk Attack Helicopters serving as part of the United Nations Force Intervention Brigade escorting a UN delegation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
An attack helicopter is an armed helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the offensive capability of engaging ground targets such as enemy infantry, military vehicles and fortifications. Due to their heavy armament they are sometimes called helicopter gunships.
A British AgustaWestland Apache helicopter fires rockets at insurgents in Afghanistan, June 2008.
Designed as a transport helicopter, the Mil Mi-4 was in some cases armed as with the Mi-4MU variant.
UH-1N armed with minigun and rocket pods
AH-56 Cheyenne prototype