Pretoria – A military-spec helicopter, the Gazelle, is the latest addition to South African National Parks’ arsenal in the fight against rhino poaching.
SANParks said the Gazelle, which was unveiled at the Letaba shooting range on Thursday, would bring the advantages of a light attack helicopter to the aid of their anti-poaching operations. It has a maximum airspeed of 310km/h, a range of 670km and service ceiling of 5000 meters.
The helicopter was donated by the Ichikowitz Family Foundation in association with Paramount, a leading African aerospace and defence group, and is part of an on-going capacity building partnership announced almost one year ago.
The foundation has previously donated a Seeker MKII surveillance aeroplane, which has been operating in the Kruger National Park since December last year.
The Gazelle has been purposefully configured by Paramount’s Advanced Technology Division, and will vastly increase areas that can be traversed and has additional equipment to increase aerial support.
Chief Executive Officer of SANParks David Mabunda thanked the foundation and the other private sector partners that were raising money to help in the fight against rhino poaching.
Ivor Ichikowitz, Chairman of the Ichikowitz Family Foundation and founder of the Paramount Group said a critical part of this helicopter’s capabilities was its speed and the fact that it has a night vision capable cockpit.
“Part of our contribution is to the training of the pilots to be able to fly at night thereby fundamentally taking the war directly to the poachers.” – SAnews.gov.za
