Hello!
We are going to look into the dashing flyboys of the South African Air Force (SAAF) in today’s deep dive of our upcoming Wargame: Red Dragon - Nation Pack: South Africa. Let’s see what the fixed-wing inventory looks like in-game.
Note that everything you’ll be reading is work in progress and is subject to change. Keep in mind that most of the following plane models are finished, but the plane’s munitions are still being worked on. This is the main reason the planes are not being shown with any missiles, ordnances, or weapon pods under their wings in this post.
Bombers and Close Air Support
The SAAF kept some of their vintage aircraft operational long into the 80s, using most of these in a dedicated bomber or close air support (CAS) role. In our new expansion, you’ll get to play with several distinct “families,” including some golden oldies:
- Rocket family: much like South Korea, SAAF uses the old CL.13B Sabre Mk.6 as a rocket attack aircraft, armed with two 18-rocket 68mm SNEB pods (same as fielded by the British Harrier GR.3). A dedicated successor is also featured, the Impala Mk II. Based on the Italian Aeromacchi MB-326 built under license by the South Africans, this plane features twin 30mm guns in its nose and fielding twice as many rockets.
- Bomber family: the first plane available in this category is the venerable, light Vampire FB-52 (1953!) carrying two Mk.77 napalm bombs. This plane is followed by the heavier Canberra B(I)12 bomber, with a load of eight Mk.83 500kg bombs for some serious Bush War carpet bombing.
- Anti-tank: alone in this role, the Buccaneer S.Mk.50 is equipped with no less than four AS.30 anti-tank missiles. This is the predecessor of the AS.30L, used by the French Armée de l’Air in-game. The older AS.30 shares the same long-range and heavy AP (30!) like its successor, but without the laser guidance system. Being only MACLOS, it is much less accurate.
All of the above planes are pre-1975, and therefore available in all era-restricted decks. This also means they lack ECM and are often quite slow.
Fighters
The SAAF’s fighters will come in two families: a mainstream section and a single, lone prototype.
- Mainstream fighters include the Mirage IIICZ (1973), equipped with one medium-range R.530 (the same as on the ANZAC Mirage IIIO(F)) and two short-range indigenous V-3A Kukri. These latter missiles are basically a more accurate version of the AIM-9B. Next in line is the Mirage F1CZ (1979) with better optics and ECM and fielding four V-3B Kukri (with the same stats as the V-3A but slightly more accurate). The last member is the Cheetah C (1995 prototype), a heavily modified Mirage III which is faster, more agile, and integrates better optics and much better ECM (40%). This plane is armed with two long-range V-4 R-Darter missiles (similar to the Israeli Derby) and two medium-range V3C Darters - the latter being another improvement on the V-3 series with better accuracy, and more range and damage compared to its predecessor.
- Carver prototype. A never-produced fully domestic South African design (1995 prototype) planned with all the optics and engine improvements of the Cheetah series and better ECM. This fighter deploys with two long-range V-4 R-Darter missiles (same as the Cheetah C), as well as two U-Darter, the latest version upgrade of the V-3 series of missiles, bringing improved accuracy and damage. A drawback compared to the preceding planes is that the Carver is armed with one instead of twin 30mm guns.
Multirole
There is only one set of planes in the Multirole category.
- Mirage IIIEZ (1973) with a single AS.30 (see the Buccaneer above) anti-tank missile and two V-3A short-range missiles. Like its French and export counterparts, it features no ECM.
- Mirage F1AZ (1975) comes armed with four Mk.20 Rockeye cluster bombs and two of the ubiquitous short-range V-3A Kukri missiles.
- Mirage IIIE2Z (1987) is an improved Mirage IIIE benefiting from some of the Cheetah improvements. It includes better optics and ECM (not as good as Cheetah though) and is armed with four Mk.82 HE bombs and two V-3B short-range missiles.
- Cheetah E (1988) is a major improvement over the Mirage III, especially in terms of optics and ECM (30%). This multirole plane is armed with two Mk.83 Griffin (aka GBU-16) 500k laser-guided bombs and two V-3C missiles.
Wild Weaselin’
SAAF planes didn’t bother with ECM or Wild Weasel missions in the early years of the Border War, as the country’s enemies rarely deployed efficient SAM defenses. Over time, and especially after the delivery of Soviet and Cuban weapon systems to Angola, South African plane losses grew significantly.
By 1988, air defenses in Angola were one of the best outside the Warsaw Pact. The SAAF, under embargo, didn’t have access to proven anti-radiation munitions and as such had to “make do” with whatever they could produce domestically.
The South African solution was the BARB (Boosted Anti-Radiation Bomb). This Frankenstein of a weapon mated an Mk.83 bomb together with a 127mm rocket booster. Rounding out this ordnance was a makeshift anti-radar guidance sensor. In-game, this weapon will be considered as a very short-range SEAD missile with HE damage only. As a result, it might not destroy a well-armored radar AA unit (such as featured on the Gepard) in one strike. On the other hand, it could still damage its target if it misses by a short margin. Especially if a player had the great idea to keep a supply vehicle near their AA - there is a good chance both units will be taken out in the same attack.
The one South African SEAD plane will be the Cheetah D (1988), featuring the same avionics and characteristics as the Cheetah E, but armed with two BARB bombs and two V-3C Darter missiles.
In case you were wondering: while the Cheetah C sports the first letter alphabetically, it is actually the latest and most modern of the Cheetah series. The E and D variants feature a speed of 900km/h (the same as Mirage III) with 30% ECM, while the C flies at 1000km/h with 40% ECM.
Nation Pack: South Africa in detail
In case you’ve missed it, we’ve already covered the combat arms historical context of this upcoming Nation Pack:
- We have put a spotlight on the all-important grunt: SADF Infantry. Read all about it here. And if you want to know how these forces appear in-game, check out this detailed gameplay deep dive here.
- We also took a look at the SADF Armor force, which you can read more about here. Curious how these units look in-game? Check out this gameplay post here.
- The flyboys claim all the glory in our SAAF Air Force article, which you can read here.
- Hugging the earth, SADF’s rotorcraft fleet get a special treatment in our Helicopter showcase, which you can read here.
What will the South Africa Nation Pack bring?
Wargame: Red Dragon - Nation Pack: South Africa will feature:
- Close to 90 new SADF units, including 20 brand-new vehicle models, as well as many new variants. All feature new Afrikaans and South African-accented English voice-overs, aie boet!
- These include the ubiquitous Casspir and Ratel APCs (in numerous variants, from IFV, recon, command, mortar, and even SAM), the Rooikat wheeled tank (including variants and prototypes), Eland (license-produced French AML), Cactus (French Crotale), the only tracked Olifant MBT, many armed variants of locally made SAMIL trucks (Ystervark and Bosvark SPAAG, Valkiri and Bateleur MLRS), to the iconic G6 Renoster self-propelled howitzer.
- The Air Force includes old Buccaneer[/], Vampire and Impala as close-air support, and several French Mirage variants and the locally modified Cheetah as fighter and multirole aircraft. Furthermore, you will find the Atlas Carver prototype, the first full South African prototype plane design (which never left the drawing board).
- Helicopters include the French Alouette III, Puma, Super Frelon and their locally produced versions and prototypes such as the K-Car, Oryx and XTP-1 Beta. You’ll also be able to deploy South Africa’s very own attack helicopter design, the badass-looking Rooivalk.
- Infantry will include Bokkop regular riflemen, Parabat paratroopers, SASF special forces, and many more units such as militia, recon, MANPADS, engineers. You will find Portuguese-speaking Angolan UNITA squads, as well as SADF’s own 32 Battalion (the Buffalos) as a veteran light infantry formation.
- SADF weaponry features imported or locally built R1 and R4 rifles, SS-77 and Mini-SS MG, LRAC and APILAS LAW, but also the more original HK-21, FT5, Inflict and, of course, the iconic Y2 grenade-launcher and NTW-20.
What happens next?
That’s all for today. We’ll be seeing you again in two weeks.
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