| Rooikat | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) | |
| Type | Armoured fighting vehicle |
| Place of origin | South Africa |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1987–present |
| Wars | Operation Boleas[1] |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1982 |
| Produced | 1987–2020 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 28 t (28 long tons; 31 short tons) |
| Length | 7.1 m (23 ft 4 in) 8.2 m (26 ft 11 in) with gun forward |
| Width | 2.9 m (9 ft 6 in) |
| Height | 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in) turret roof |
| Crew | 4 |
Main armament | 1 x Denel GT4 76mm 62-calibre rifled gun, firing an APFSDS round Muzzle velocity: > 1600m/s.[2][3] |
Secondary armament | 2 x MG4 7.62 mm machine guns; 8 x 81 mm smoke grenade dischargers[3] |
| Engine | 10-cylinder water-cooled diesel 414 kW (555 hp) |
| Power/weight | 14.89 kW (19.97 hp)/t |
| Suspension | 8×8 wheeled, Fully independent active trailing arm |
Operational range | 1000 km (621 mi) |
| Maximum speed | Road: 120 km/h (75 mph) Off-road: 60 km/h (37 mph) |
The Rooikat (Afrikaans for "Caracal"; lit. 'Red cat') is a South African armoured reconnaissance vehicle equipped with a stabilised 76 mm (3.0 in) high velocity gun for organic anti-tank and fire support purposes. The Rooikat's main armament was built with the Oto Melara 76 naval gun as its basis, to which it is nearly identical in terms of technical performance and statistics.[4] The Rooikat can also fire the same ammunition as the naval gun, albeit modified with new percussion primers in the shells.[4]
- ^ "Customs, Traditions, History, and Insignia of the South African Armoured Corps" (PDF). Bloemfontein: South African Armour Association. 18 October 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
- ^ "Rooikat". South African Army. Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2009.
- ^ a b "Rooikat armoured car". DefenceWeb. Retrieved 26 June 2009.
- ^ a b Jane's Armour and Artillery, 2001–2002, Volume 23, pp. 244-345.