Talk:Southern African Union/@comment-14850713-20170501055730

IC:

The Falken gunship, while maneuverable and heavily-armored, has always been criticized for its payload. So much so that the F4U Corsair (as the Corsair X) continues to soldier on in half of AFOH scout/light-attack squadrons. This is also a problem in the more austere SAUAF, where a premium is placed on aircraft which can fulfill different roles. A replacement is needed, and help came from the AFOH Department of Research and Development (DORAD).

DORAD has been exploring designs for the replacement of the aging Griffon A2-IG ground-attack fighter. But like many of the new weapons programs (lthe Next-Generation Force and Future Combat Vehicle), this was shelved as all resources were devoted to Operation '"Odyssey'' and the mass-migration to Zeus. Rather than let the design languish in its archives, DORAD shared the design with the SAU. The latter immediately commissioned Denel, buoyed by the recent sales success of its Super Chinook and Condor, to improve it into a prototype jet-powered VTOL heavy gunship/attack craft which can double as an assault transport.

From the initial "Griffon II" concept, the design evolved into the VT84 Cormorant. It has high-mounted wings and engines for protection against ground fire, with the wings having downward-canted edges for low-speed maneuverability. Two engine-driven lift-fans are integrated into the thick inner wing, which are coupled with twin vectoring nozzles for STOL.

Cormorant can embark up to 60 troops like the Super Chinook, but is much faster as it can fly at high-transonic speed, enabling it to fulfill the role of first-wave assault transport and making it ideal for special forces insertion/extraction. The SAUAF ordered that it also incorporate a rear cargo ramp for training commonality and interoperability.

The plan's weapons capacity and low-speed agility also makes it suitable for the gunship role, with more than twice the payload of the Falken and 30% higher than the Griffon. Denel was able to integrate the Diable FA-6M fighter's LRC-2 rotary launcher (2) and 2 105mm conventional guns into the cargo bay, thus having the Cormorant mount its main weapons internally, as the wings can only mount either 2 drop tanks or 2 25mm gun pods.