Atlas Oryx

The Atlas Oryx (named after the Oryx antelope) is a medium-sized utility helicopter ostensibly developed and manufactured by the Atlas Aircraft Corporation (now Denel Aeronautics) of South Africa. Its largest operator is the South African Air Force (SAAF), having been originally developed to fulfil their needs.

Development of the Oryx commenced during the early 1980s, largely in response to the wartime demands of the Border War and the imposition of an arms embargo upon South Africa, which prevented the importing of foreign transport helicopters such as the Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma. Seeking to improve and augment the SAAF's existing fleet of rotorcraft, domestic industries examined means of improving the Puma helicopter. The Oryx is closely connected to the Denel Rooivalk attack helicopter, both rotorcraft being based on the Puma and development having been worked on in parallel around roughly the same time period. Following the conversion of a single Puma to the Oryx configuration, quantity production of the Oryx was authorised during the late 1980s.

Allegedly, the Oryx's development was greatly facilitated by the French helicopter firm Aérospatiale, the Puma's original manufacturer, who produced kits that were supplied to South Africa; Atlas Aviation had denied this involvement and claimed that the Oryx was an entirely indigenous programme.

The development of an entirely new helicopter from scratch would have involved designing and developing many accompanying subsystems and components, such as the turboshaft engines and the dynamic systems, such as the main and tail rotor systems and the gearboxes.

During the 1990s, legal action was launched by the Portuguese firm Beverley Securities Incorporated (BSI) against the multinational helicopter manufacturer Eurocopter, the successor to Aérospatiale, over allegations related to the Oryx's development and its relation to the Puma helicopter. Atlas Aviation has consistently claimed that the Oryx was an indigenous programme that was developed by Atlas itself. During the 2010s, legal action on the matter between various parties, in which political involvement was alleged by Van Vuuren, was still ongoing.

A single Puma, no. 177, was converted to the Oryx configuration and served as a prototype; reportedly the results collected were in excess of all expectations, contributing to the launch of the Oryx programme. The presence of sanctions had encouraged both the South African government and domestic industries to pursue self-sufficiency wherever possible, and this principle was particularly apparent in the production of aircraft components and, with the knowledge to assemble pre-manufactured helicopters, led to the technical skill for producing complete Puma helicopters, should the need arise. This included complete airframes and dynamic components such as gearboxes, rotor blades and turbines and hot section parts. Wherever it was feasible to do so, commonality with the Rooivalk's systems was pursued in order to simplify logistics and reduce maintenance costs for both fleets.

Operational service

During mid-1991, the SAAF publicly acknowledged that the Oryx was in service and that its purpose was to replace its aging fleets of Pumas and Aérospatiale Super Frelons alike. It was displayed for the first time at an open day at Potchefstroom in August 1991.

Since 2003, the South African Air Force has dispatched multiple Oryx into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in support of UN-led peacekeeping operations in the country. In 2003, a pair of Oryx were stationed in the Ituri/Bunia area as part of a bilateral agreement with France, being briefly used to facilitate troop movements and medium-grade transport duties. A two-year long deployment started in 2007, with two Oryx deployed at a forward operating base in Kamina for transportation purposes in the unstable Goma region; the element was subsequently relocated to a site within Goma itself and strengthened with three additional Oryx and three Rooivalk attack helicopters. By 2015, the South African Aviation Unit in the DRC involved around 140 personnel and five Oryx, amongst other assets.

Being a multirole helicopter, the Oryx's primary missions within the SAAF have included medium to heavy transport duties, communications flights, task force rapid deployment operations, fire fighting, and search & rescue missions. Each one can reportedly carry up to 20 fully equipped troops, or up to six wounded personnel on stretchers with four attendants; in terms of freight, it can carry a maximum payload of 3,000 kg within the cabin, or transport up to 4,500 kg freight on an external sling. Tasks performed for the South African Navy include general transportation, at-sea replenishment, force multiplication, reconnaissance, and search & rescue operations.

During 2003, it was announced that, as a part of a major modernisation and reequipment programme, the SAAF had declared ten of its Oryx helicopters to be surplus to requirements and would be made available for re-sale. At the time, the service was in the process of inducting several new types, including the Saab JAS 39 Gripen multirole fighter, the BAE Systems Hawk trainer/ground attack aircraft, and the AgustaWestland AW109 rotorcraft, the latter being the SAAF's modern rotary-wing component.

In 2006, the SAAF initiated a mid life upgrade for its remaining inventory of 35 Oryx; one stated aim of this work was to extend the type's service life through to the 2015 - 2020 timeframe. In large part due to ongoing budgetary restrictions, the mid-life upgrade was limited in scope to life extensions to the air frame, although limited updates were performed to both the communications and navigation suites as well.

Variants

thumb|Mark 2 (maritime) variant of the Oryx

In its basic platform the design of the Oryx offers a number of advantages and this was further developed from an early stage in the program. With the Denel Rooivalk now in service, this combat helicopter will escort the Oryx in a high threat environment. However, as an interim measure an Oryx with door mounted machine guns did appear. Oryx helicopters are constantly refined and updated. A full glass cockpit is planned for a future update. The latest addition is the fitting of flare dispensers and the update of the Threat Warning Receivers.

There is an electronic warfare (stand-off communications jamming/radar jamming) version of the Oryx that is equipped with the Grinaker Systems Technologies (GST) GSY 1501 jamming system, among others. The first Oryx variant with a large log periodic antenna on the starboard side was regarded as quite an effective EW platform. This platform is capable of disrupting key communications during various stages of modern, air-, land-, and sea battles. In addition it is used as an effective training aid to the SANDF, to test their function as an effective fighting force, despite any EW methods employed against the SA Forces. A further advantage is, EW equipment in use by the SA Forces can be effectively evaluated and calibrated under simulated battlefield scenarios. One variant has its main cabin doors replaced by dome shaped antennas.

The Oryx Mk. 2 contains such a number of differences, that a different model number is used, to distinguish the type. Although, operated and flown by 22 Squadron SAAF, these helicopters were specifically built for use by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, as part of the South African National Antarctic Programme.

Two Oryx helicopters have been modified for operations in the Southern Ocean and the Antarctic, for which they have been painted in the red and white colour scheme. Highly effective, de-icing equipment, of up rated specification, was the central requirement of the Mk. 2 program. The project received the go-ahead on 15 March 1996, with Lt Col K. Viljoen as project leader. The project was completed three weeks ahead of schedule and the two helicopters delivered to 22 Sqdn, during October 1997. One of the Mk. 2 Oryx helicopters was written off subsequent to a crash landing in July 2004.

Operators

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South African Air Force
87 Helicopter Flying School
15 Squadron
17 Squadron
19 Squadron
22 Squadron

Operational service

Variants

Operators

Specifications

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links