Boeing and the Paramount Group, the South Africa-based global defense and aerospace business, have expanded their 2014 agreement to cooperate on an advanced mission system for a variant of the Advanced, High Performance, Reconnaissance, Light Aircraft (AHRLAC).

A high-wing, two-seat aircraft, AHRLAC is designed to incorporate advanced Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities and weapons systems. Boeing will develop an integrated mission system for the aircraft enabling ISR and light strike missions for the AHRLAC safety & security, and military variants. This militarised version will be known as Mwari.
Speaking from the Global Aerospace Summit in Abu Dhabi, Jeffrey Johnson, vice president, Business Development, Boeing Military Aircraft, said, Through AHRLAC, we’ll not only bring a flexible, persistent and affordable aircraft to the international market, but we’ll also be developing world-class technology in Africa . Our relationship with Paramount will help us access markets that are new to Boeing , Johnson added.
The Paramount Group is the largest privately owned defense and aerospace business in Africa, providing fully integrated turnkey solutions to global defense, peacekeeping and internal security forces. Since its inception in 1994, Paramount has built strong relationships with governments and government agencies in more than 30 countries around the world. Paramount is a leading innovator in the design and development of state-of-the-art products. They tend to use advanced lightweight materials that could be procured from suppliers like solvay and has partnered with some of the world’s largest and most reputable organizations in the global defense community.
GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS
OVERALL LAYOUT | |
Pusher configuration, jet-like characteristics | |
Unobstructed forward view for sensors | |
Internal high velocity 20-mm cannon | |
Flexible belly-mounted multi-mission sensor pod | |
High wing for good external view and rough field operation | |
MAXIMUM TAKE-OFF WEIGHT (MTOW) | 8,378 lbs/3,800 kg |
PAYLOAD WITH FULL FUEL | 1,764 lbs/800 kg + |
LANDING GEAR | |
Retractable, optimised for semi- and unprepared sites | |
Sized for optional extra-large high flotation wheels | |
COCKPIT | |
Tandem seat, two crew | |
Large vertical cockpit separation and high wing for optimum external view | |
New generation multi-function IFR Glass cockpit | |
PERFORMANCE | |
Take-Off Distance | 1,804 feet/550 m Full payload |
Maximum Cruise Speed | 272 knots/313 mph/504 km/h |
Service Ceiling | 31,000 feet/9,449 m |
External Stores and Armament | 6 Wing Hard Points |
20-mm Fuselage mounted Cannon | |
Maximum Mission Range | 1,150 NM/1,323 miles/2,130 km |
Maximum Ferry Range | 2,000 NM/2,302 miles/3,704 km |
Length | 34.4 feet/10.5 m |
Wing Span | 39.4 feet/12 m |
Height | 13.1 feet/4 m |
Engine | 1 × Pratt & Whitney PT6A-66B 950 HP Flat-rated (Growth to 1,600 HP/1,193 kW) |
CONFORMAL AND INTERCHANGEABLE MISSION-SPECIFIC POD ACCOMMODATING COMBINATIONS OF: | |
Forward Looking InfraRed (FLIRs) | |
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Radars | |
Active and Passive Electronic Warfare (EW) | |
Electronic intelligence (ELINT)/Communications intelligence (COMINT) | |
High wing for good external view and rough field operation |
