The "simple" CLOS version of the Umkhonto shown earler in this topic is basically a "repackaging" of the original SAHV 1980s development programme as a Cactus/Crotale replacement, that gave rise to the Umkhonto SAM family.
wow, thanks for postingsa_bushwar said:Denel Brochure of the Seraph High Speed Stealth Drone concept, that was as far as I know only taken to small scale mock-up stage. Time frame est. early 1990's.
Ok Kaiserbill - so to both answer you and for better reference and continuity purposes, I have quoted my own post (#84) above. The above was written directly after my AAD 2016 visit and therefore with a very fresh memory...Graugrun said:As per the posts in the "Various aviation projects from South Africa" thread, in the Postwar Aircraft Projects section, I have decided to post this here as it relates specifically to cruise missile use -
I chatted to the lead engineer from CSIR on this project, and in essence he mentioned the following:
1. There is a strong international need/requirement that has been placed on them, hence the Resurrection of the program (plus a local need).
2. He dug up the project "Apartment" program purely as a starting point for the project, so as not to 'reinvent the wheel' - however his initial designs will differ quite a bit (much lighter, smaller, more powerful and more fuel efficient).
3. He has commissioned Stellenbosch University and a small private company to design and build a 200N turbojet engine for radio controlled models use. This could have easily been bought off the shelf, however the aim was to produce our own and obtain the basic knowledge and grounding, allowing them to develop larger stuff later. They have completed the 200N project (I will post pics later).
4. The University and small company are now busy with designing the 600N advanced cycle turbine for Glider sustain-er purposes - and to further increase their ability.
5. He has a request to produce a very compact engine (could be the 600N mentioned above, or perhaps the new 3 kN model, developed from project Apartment?), for the Raptor III as per my post above. Although the lead Engineer on the Raptor III told me that he is free to choose any gas turbine engine he wants - so if CSIR don't make it in time, I guess Denel is going elsewhere. He will end up on a 6.6 kN model at the end of this project (so -200N, then 600N, then 3.3 kN, ending with a 6.6 kN engine).
6. He mentioned that there were a few other projects, other then project Apartment on the go in the 80's and 90's, without elaborating...
7. He seemed to indicate that he will be working on developing a turbofan as his project (as opposed to the turbojet that project Apartment is) - perhaps this will be the 6.6 kN version.
8. The reason project Apartment was terminated (even though it was showing very good promise), was that the French quickly decided to supply us with one of their own turbojets (Microturbo?), as soon as they saw that we were getting it right, they obviously thought it better to get the sale and prevent a new competitor in the micro turbo market. Apparently what we bought from the French was then used in Skua (although the accompanying sign mentions that project Apartment was as a replacement for the Skua turbojet).
Below are some pics of project Apartment model as per the show - I am not a professional photographer and battled a bit with the perspex case covering the engine, so please forgive the poor quality of my pics.
Seems unlikely - the Meteor ramjet is not a British area of responsibility (developed by Bayern-Chemie of Germany).Graugrun said:I have never mentioned it before, but I have been told for the last 7 years or so that this technology was sold off to the British for use in their Meteor missile...?
Graugrun said:Thanks Kaiserbill!
Here is another, more detailed article by Janes that covers the Mongoose 3 and Cheetah C-Ram development, it now clears up any confusion I had as to the roles/functions of the missiles. Looks quite nifty but could be a bit expensive to use in certain scenarios... Interesting the diverse amount of applications they have for it, plus the Piff/Paff type type rocket motors, doing away with the need for a trainable launcher in the tank/vehicle self protection mode.
I strongly suspect that they have an international order/contract to develop this (together with the Marlin BVR missile), I cannot see how they would get the necessary development funds and go-ahead otherwise.
http://www.janes.com/article/81207/denel-dynamics-unveils-layered-c-ram-system
61 Mech - you are quite right, it could work very well as naval CIWS option, being vertically launched it has much more flexibility in terms of fitment and placement on a ship, and with a 10km range it seems to out range the RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile by 1 Km, so yes, they hopefully will be offering it in that role too.61mech said:Interesting they don't really market it as a naval CIWS option. Sounds like it could work well as a bolt on type launcher for ship defence similar to RAM.
Graugrun said:Thanks Kaiserbill!
Here is another, more detailed article by Janes that covers the Mongoose 3 and Cheetah C-Ram development, it now clears up any confusion I had as to the roles/functions of the missiles. Looks quite nifty but could be a bit expensive to use in certain scenarios... Interesting the diverse amount of applications they have for it, plus the Piff/Paff type type rocket motors, doing away with the need for a trainable launcher in the tank/vehicle self protection mode.
I strongly suspect that they have an international order/contract to develop this (together with the Marlin BVR missile), I cannot see how they would get the necessary development funds and go-ahead otherwise.
http://www.janes.com/article/81207/denel-dynamics-unveils-layered-c-ram-system