Hello! Welcome back to what is currently our last in-depth look at the upcoming [b]Wargame: Red Dragon - Nation Pack: South Africa[/b] DLC. We will give you a detailed insight into the gameplay and in-game load-outs of the South African Air Force’s (SAAF) rotorcraft in today’s post. As always, everything you read is [b][i]work in progress[/i][/b] and is subject to change. Much like in our previous [url=https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/251060/view/2993187041046213532][b]Air Force Gameplay[/b][/url] post, keep in mind that the modeling for each helo’s ammunition and ordnance load-out is not final. We are getting closer to releasing [b]Wargame: Red Dragon - Nation Pack: South Africa[/b], but we are still some ways off. When the time is right, we’ll let you know. Hang tight! [b][h2]Supply[/h2][/b] Our first unit is a true SAAF workhorse. Since 1967, SAAF’s heavy hauler is the French [b]SA.321 Super Frelon[/b]. In-game, this cargo helicopter will be in the same category as the American [i]CH-53E[/i] or the Soviet [i]Mi-6[/i]. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/5756781/aad64e9510bafc4950d346acc841045a37c961cd.png[/img] [b][h2]Recon[/h2][/b] Two dedicated helicopters will be available in this section, presented as part of a single family: [list] [*]The good ol’ [b]Alouette III[/b], SAAF’s oldest and sturdiest flying helo. Available from 1961, this chopper is unarmed. [*]The prototype light [b]XH-1 Alpha[/b] (1985). Although historically used as a testbed for a new generation of attack helicopters, in-game the unit has been repurposed as an armed recon chopper with Exceptional optics. [/list] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/5756781/b319f4fbdc956daebd43f1c8152f17fa9487b59d.jpg[/img] [b][h2]Transport[/h2][/b] Going from A to B - fast! There will be two units in this category that are, once again, featured within a single family. [list] [*]First up is the mainstay [b]SA.330H Puma[/b] (1973), armed with a side-door MAG 7,62mm machine gun. [*]The domestically built [b]Oryx[/b] (1987), which features the same armament, but with improved speed and hit points. [/list] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/5756781/099a01d88cec28ae241dea459b3762c42a5eaebd.jpg[/img] These transport rotorcraft will be available in-game to move [b]Bokkop[/b], [b]Buffalos[/b], [b]Kommandant[/b], [b]Inflict[/b], [b]MILAN[/b], [b]Parabat[/b], [b]Para Pathfinders[/b], [b]Sappers[/b], [b]SASF[/b] (both), [b]Strela[/b] and [b]Trackers[/b] squads and units. [b][h2]Attack[/h2][/b] Rain fire from above with the SAAFs devastating arsenal of attack helicopters. These units are divided into two distinct families: [list] [*]The singular [b]Alouette K-Car[/b] (1973) as light support chopper. Armed with a side-door 20mm autocannon in much the same configuration as the French [i]Puma Pirate[/i].[/list] The second family is made up of a pure brand of attack helos, all prototypes, starting with the [b]XTP-1 Beta[/b]. This unit was tested with a lot of different weapons in various configurations. We have distilled them into two separate variants. [list][*][b]XTP-1 Beta ’87[/b] (1987) features the original support and AA configuration, with a 20mm in the nose, four 18-tube pods of 68mm SNEB rockets, and two V3B [i]Kukri[/i] short-range air-to-air missiles. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/5756781/5c8a6a21d4bf7a352b59dedc4590c9b237a711bb.jpg[/img] [*][b]XTP-1 Beta ’90[/b] (1990) was used to test a new indigenous ATGM, making this variant a pure ground attack chopper. It retains the nose 20mm cannon and rocket pods but switches the Kukri A2A missiles for no less than eight [i]Zingwe[/i] ATGMs. The latter weapon is an improved version of the [i]Swift[/i] missile featured on the ground-based Ratel ZT3-A1, with more range and AP. [*]And at last, the classy and deadly looking [b]Rooivalk[/b] (1994). Faster, sturdier, and more agile than the XTP-1 Beta, it keeps the ’90 variant’s 20mm nose canon and eight Zingwe, but drops the rocket pods in favor of four [i]Mistral[/i] A2A missiles. [/list] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/5756781/d8ece75d678ed0ab35db68a24fddf5de4a4c8466.png[/img] Just to make it clear. The above attack family is organized in such a way that in order of appearance, there is one anti-infantry/anti-air unit, one anti-infantry/anti-tank unit, and one anti-tank/anti-air helicopter. [b][h2]Nation Pack: South Africa in detail[/h2][/b] In case you’ve missed it, we’ve already covered the combat arms historical context of this upcoming [b]Nation Pack[/b]: [list] [*]We have put a spotlight on the all-important grunt: SADF [b]Infantry[/b]. Read all [b][url=https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/251060/view/3016823329556921166]about it here.[/url][/b] And if you want to know how these forces appear in-game, check out this [b][url=https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/251060/view/3030339201340012422]detailed gameplay deep dive here[/url][/b]. [*]We also looked at the SADF [b]Armor[/b] force, which you can [b][url=https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/251060/view/3048349794619388526]read more about here.[/url][/b] Curious how these units look in-game? Check out this [b][url=https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/251060/view/3053984370218224825]gameplay post here[/url][/b]. [*]The flyboys claim all the glory in our SAAF [b]Air Force[/b] article, which [b][url=https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/251060/view/3070869061072083812]you can read here[/url][/b]. To read more about the planes in-game, be sure [b][url=https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/251060/view/2993187041046213532]to read this gameplay post here. [/url][/b] [*]Hugging the earth, SADF’s rotorcraft fleet get special treatment in our [b]Helicopter[/b] showcase, which [b][url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/251060/Wargame_Red_Dragon/]you can read here.[/url][/b] To read more about the choppers in-game, be sure to read this gameplay post here. [/list] [b][h2]What will the South Africa Nation Pack bring?[/h2][/b] [b]Wargame: Red Dragon - Nation Pack: South Africa[/b] will feature: [list] [*]Close to 90 new SADF units, including 20 brand-new vehicle models, as well as many new variants. All feature new Afrikaans and South African-accented English voice-overs. [*]These include the ubiquitous [b]Casspir[/b] and [b]Ratel[/b] APCs (in numerous variants, from IFV, recon, command, mortar, and even SAM), the [b]Rooikat[/b] wheeled tank (including variants and prototypes), [b]Eland[/b] (license-produced French AML), [b]Cactus[/b] (French Crotale), the only tracked [b]Olifant[/b] MBT, many armed variants of locally made [b]SAMIL[/b] trucks ([b]Ystervark[/b] and [b]Bosvark[/b] SPAAG, [b]Valkiri[/b] and [b]Bateleur[/b] MLRS), to the iconic [b]G6 Renoster[/b] self-propelled howitzer. [*]The Air Force includes old [b]Buccaneer[/b], [b]Vampire[/b] and [b]Impala[/b] as close-air support, and several French [b]Mirage[/b] variants and the locally modified [b]Cheetah[/b] as fighter and multirole aircraft. Furthermore, you will find the [b]Atlas Carver[/b] prototype, the first full South African prototype plane design (which never left the drawing board). [*]Helicopters include the French [b]Alouette III[/b], [b]Puma[/b], [b]Super Frelon[/b] and their locally produced versions and prototypes such as the [b]K-Car[/b], [b]Oryx[/b] and [b]XTP-1 Beta[/b]. You’ll also be able to deploy South Africa’s very own attack helicopter design, the badass-looking [b]Rooivalk[/b]. [*]Infantry will include [b]Bokkop[/b] regular riflemen, [b]Parabat[/b] paratroopers, [b]SASF[/b] special forces, and many more units such as militia, recon, MANPADS, engineers. You will find Portuguese-speaking Angolan [b]UNITA[/b] squads, as well as SADF’s own [b]32 Battalion[/b] (the Buffalos) as a veteran light infantry formation. [*]SADF weaponry features imported or locally built [b]R1[/b] and [b]R4[/b] rifles, [b]SS-77[/b] and [b]Mini-SS[/b] MG, [b]LRAC[/b] and [b]APILAS[/b] LAW, but also the more original [b]HK-21[/b], [b]FT5[/b], [b]Inflict[/b] and, of course, the iconic [b]Y2 grenade-launcher[/b] and [b]NTW-20[/b]. [/list] [b][h2]What happens next?[/h2][/b] That’s all for now. We’ll be back with more news about when to expect [b]Wargame: Red Dragon - Nation Pack: South Africa[/b] soon. Until then, make sure to follow us. Check out our [url=https://forums.eugensystems.com/viewforum.php?f=216]Eugen forums[/url], or ([url=https://www.facebook.com/eugensystems/]Facebook[/url] page and [url=https://twitter.com/EugenSystems]Twitter[/url])! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/5756781/7419f2aa9c15d27ae8c834d8b064d2a23d9843b5.gif[/img]