Tshwane-based aerospace and defence equipment company, Paramount Aerospace Industries is set to deliver its first Mwari multi-role aircraft.
Paramount Aerospace Industries announced this development this week as they will deliver the Mwari to overseas airforce by the end of this week.
The deadline for the delivery is set for September 23 and Paramount says other airframes are destined for another airforce.
It has come to the attention of BusinessTech Africa that the orders for nine new Mwaris for the two separate air forces represent an important milestone in the company’s commercial success.
The success has also resulted in full serial production of Mwaris at Paramount Group’s Wonderboom National Airport aircraft factory as per a report by Engineering News.
Defining the Mwari, Levy said the plane is a military-spec reconnaissance, surveillance and precision strike aircraft, originating as an offshoot of Paramount’s Advanced High-performance Reconnaissance Light Attack aircraft, known as the Ahrlac.
Paramount Aerospace Industries CEO Mike Levy says the milestone is a proud moment for the business and Africa’s aerospace industry.
“The development and deployment of Mwari underscores the strategic importance of a world-class, indigenous African aerospace industry, one that can quickly and collaboratively address the increasing security threats, conflicts, and insurgencies which Africa presently faces,” he said.
“These orders are effectively working for us for the next two years, at least.
“We started completely from scratch, which makes it quite unique. Not too many aircraft are designed completely from scratch.”
Currently, Paramount Aerospace Industries is capable of producing three Mwaris a year, with plans to ramp up capacity to five units a year, as and when demand requires.
To the company’s international senior VP Eric Ichikowitz, he says the Mwari is purposefully designed for the kind of asymmetrical warfare that modern military forces across the world are today being asked to conduct.
“The aircraft has a critical role to play in the connected battlefield providing forces on the ground and in the air with a force multiplier competitive advantage,” he said.
Mwari is also designed to address key global security requirements from air forces around the world by performing missions that previously required several different aircraft.
Because of the Mwari’s compact design, large wheels, and lightweight, it is also capable of being turned around and refuelled by its two crew members on the ground.
Although it is not capable of carrying heavy loads, the Mwari has the ability to carry various payloads in its interchangeable mission systems bay – located in the belly of the aircraft.
Proudly manufactured in the South African capital city, the Mwari can also be armed, with payloads of ordnance on its inner and major pylons of up to 300 kg, while as much as 280 kg of ordnance can be loaded onto its outer wing pylons.
It is mentioned that in terms of operating costs, the aircraft can be operated at an average of $1 500 an hour, which Levy says is about equivalent to the operating cost of a small helicopter.
Main Image: Mwari Aircraft/Twitter
https://twitter.com/paramountgroup1
