Valkiri - encyclopedia article about Valkiri.

Valkiri
Type	Multiple rocket launcher
Place of origin	South Africa
Service history
Used by	South Africa
Wars	South African Border War
Production history
Designer	Denel, Somchem
Variants	Bateleur (40 launch tubes)
Specifications
Weight	6400 kg (14080 lbs)
Crew	2

Caliber	127 mm
Effective range	36 km (22 mi)

Suspension	4×4 wheeled

The Valkiri (Valkyrie) is a South African self-propelled multiple rocket launcher developed in the 1980s by Somchem, a division of the Denel corporation.^[1]^[2]

Development of the system was completed in 1981. It was fielded in 1987 and 1988 by the South African Defense Force (SADF) in southern Angola against Cuban supported FAPLA forces, specifically during operations Hooper and Modular.

Description

It is closely based on, but not a copy of, the Soviet BM-21 (Grad). The most significant differences are:

Different rockets (127 mm versus 122 mm).
Improved range and accuracy of rockets.
Smaller, lighter more mobile 4×4 2-ton truck chassis (the SAMIL).
Could easily be disguised as small canvas covered truck.

It was designed to be a self contained system that could be easily transportable in a C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft.

The standard 127 mm rocket is 2.68 m long and designed for use against personnel or soft skinned targets. The pre-fragmented warhead is designed with a proximity fuze for detonation at a certain height above ground.

Variants

Valkiri-22 (original version): 24 launch tubes
Bateleur (current version): 40 launch tubes

References

1. ^ Rockets and Missiles. Retrieved on 2006-10-25.
2. ^ Valkiri Multiple Artillery Rocket. Retrieved on 2006-10-25.

External links

Army Recognition.com
FAS.org
Photos at SA Bush War—half way down the page

multiple rocket launcher (MRL) is a type of unguided rocket artillery system. Like other rocket artillery, MRLs are less accurate and have a much lower rate of fire than batteries of traditional artillery guns.
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South African Border War refers to the conflict that took place from 1966 to 1989 in South-West Africa (now Namibia) and Angola between South Africa and its allied forces (mainly UNITA) on the one side and the Angolan government, South-West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO), and
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Denel (Pty) Ltd

Proprietary limited company
Founded 1991
Headquarters Centurion, Gauteng, South Africa

Key people CEO: Shaun Liebenberg
Area served world wide
Industry weapons manufacturing
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caliber or calibre designates the interior diameter of a tube or the exterior diameter of a wire or rod. It comes from the Italian calibro, itself from qālib (قالب), Arabic word for mold.
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valkyries (Old Norse Valkyrja "Choosers of the Slain") are dísir, minor female deities, who served Odin. The valkyries' purpose was to choose the most heroic of those who had died in battle and to carry them off to Valhalla where they became einherjar.
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Denel Aerospace Systems

division of proprietary limited company
Founded 1991
Headquarters Centurion, Gauteng, South Africa

Area served world wide
Industry weapons development and manufacturing
Products guided missiles,glide bombs
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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1950s 1960s 1970s - 1980s - 1990s 2000s 2010s
1984 1985 1986 - 1987 - 1988 1989 1990

Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII
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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1950s 1960s 1970s - 1980s - 1990s 2000s 2010s
1985 1986 1987 - 1988 - 1989 1990 1991

Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII
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Oromo are an indigenous African ethnic group found in Ethiopia and to a lesser extent in Kenya . They are the largest single ethnic group in Ethiopia, at 32.1% of the population according to the 1994 census, and today numbering around 40 million.
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Motto
"Virtus Unita Fortior" (Latin)
"Unity Provides Strength"
Anthem
Angola Avante! (Portuguese)
Forward Angola!
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Motto
Patria y Libertad (Spanish)
"Patriotism and Liberty" ^a
Anthem
La Bayamesa
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The FAPLA or Forças Armadas Populares de Libertação de Angola (People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola) was originally the armed wing of the Angolan MPLA movement but later became the country's official armed forces when the MPLA took control of the government.
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Operation Hooper was a military operation by the South African Defence Force (SADF) during the South African Border War. This operation forms part of what has come to be called the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale.
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Operation Modular was a military operation by the South African Defence Force (SADF) during the South African Border War. It formed part of what has come to be called the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale.
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Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (abbreviated USSR, Russian: (help info ) ; tr.
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BM-21 Grad (БМ-21 "Град") is a launching vehicle of the Soviet 122 mm multiple-launch rocket system developed in the early 1960s. BM stands for 'combat vehicle' (Russian: Boyevaya Mashina
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SAMIL Trucks (South African MILitary) are the standard logistical transport vehicles of the South African National Defence Force, manufactured by Truck-Makers in Rosslyn, Pretoria.
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Type STOL military transport aircraft
Manufacturer Lockheed Corporation
Maiden flight 1954-08-23
Introduction December 1956
Status In production
Primary users United States Air Force (514)
Royal Air Force (91)
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A proximity fuze (also called a VT fuze, for "variable time") is a fuze that is designed to detonate an explosive automatically when the distance to target becomes smaller than a predetermined value or when the target passes through a given plane.
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