Sure. Many conspiracy theories and excuses for each order. The end result is not that not a single order was ever places. Not even one.
Excuses don't account for that.
Stop being so petulant and blind because those reasons are a very real reason why the Rooivalk never received orders. In any case let me break it down for everyone since I have always followed and researched these things.
So the Rooivalk program began back in the 80's after our experiences in Angola. There was a worry (particularly by the Army) that if the Cold War were to go hot we would see thousands of Soviet tanks streaming across the veld and we wouldn't have an effective way to stop them.
Because we were under sanctions it was decided to rather utilise an existing drive-train than try develop the extremely complex engine and gearbox components. (Trust me, aircraft engines are not that easy to develop just ask the Chinese) The two helicopters in use by the SAAF at that time were the Alouette III and Puma. Both were used as test beds and finally the Puma was chosen because it was far more powerful, could fly further and carry more weight. The SAAF planned on fielding 2 squadrons worth of Rooivalks.
So obviously they went ahead and designed but then the end of the Cold War came so that began the slowing down of funds for the military. When '94 came around funds for defence were drastically reduced and although the Rooivalk was sort of an army requirement it was an airforce project and so because the airforce didn't see much use to it they put at a sort of low priority.
By now its the late '90s and the defence force is sitting with this massive project but the SADF aren't too keen on buying it if its only them (too high a unit price since we would need so few), we need to try export it. At the time people were quite interested in it but no one wanted to order it either since it wasn't even in service yet. So the defence force decided that they will take the plunge and buy a squadrons worth in order to give the chopper the credibility it needed for other countries to feel it was safe enough to consider it.
The UK at the time were also looking for their first attack helicopter and they were the first country we showcased the Rooivalk to. They were so impressed with it they wanted to conclude a deal for a fair number of them, however we did not have a locally developed laser guided ATGM (at the time), ala Hellfire, for them to puchase with it. We would have to ask the Americans if we could integrate the Hellfire onto the Rooivalk. They said no so the Brits said no and got the Apache instead.
That was a huge blow to the program but there were still others interested. Australia was one of them however when that competition got down to two choices the Tiger and the Rooivalk; Eurocopter (makers of the Tiger) turned around and said we can't guarantee you engine and gearbox parts for the Rooivalk since they were the makers of the Puma. So the Aussies worried they wouldn't be able to service the choppers went for the Tiger instead. A similar thing happened with the Turkey competition.
Then Malaysia was interested but because all the other deals fell through and the program still hadn't reached full operational service (because the SAAF was just try to keep it potting along waiting for an order) they were worried they would have to pay to high a cost to get the Rooivalk into operational condition.
So there you have it. A concise history as to why the Rooivalk was not an export success, not a heck of a lot to do with the aircraft but a hang of a lot to do with politics.
Fast forward to now and the Rooivalk has finally seen action in the DRC and has acquitted itself excellently. So much in fact that the UN has begged us to keep it on even though their are plenty of Ukranian Hinds available. This has piqued the interest of at least two other countries with a possible third. Malaysia is believed to be one of them the others are not known but I would hazard a guess that Brazil could be one of them.
They would only produce more Rooivalk if they manage to get a decent sized order with these nations. The Rooivalk's avionics would be upgraded (since they are 90's tech) and one or two other things. The problem with Eurocopter has gone away because they have been bought out and the business relationship is a bit better with them. Plus the Rooivalk wouldn't be in direct competition with their products. If the order goes through then we would piggy back on the production line and order another squadrons worth (as is envisioned in the Defence Review) and upgrade our existing examples.
This is of course subject to the Defence Review being approved and appropriate funding allocated.
