Paramount Mwari

what is it?

The Paramount Mwari, formerly known as AHRLAC (Advanced High Performance Reconnaissance Light Aircraft), is a South African light reconnaissance and counter-insurgency aircraft developed by Paramount Aerospace Industries, which started out as a joint venture between the Paramount Group and Aerosud. It is designed to perform as an inexpensive, more versatile substitute for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and modern light attack aircraft. On 26 July 2014, the Ahrlac conducted its maiden flight; on 13 August 2014, the aircraft performed its first public flight display at Wonderboom Airport.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 turboprop · forward-swept wing · retractable tricycle gear · 11.9 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 504 km/htop speed
• range 2,130 kmwithout refuelling
• size 3,800 kgmax take-off weight
• built 5made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 12 years ago, in 2014.
• 🏎️Top speed is 3.9× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 11.9 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 2,130 km: 12× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.1× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

turboprop: A jet-style turbine turning a propeller: efficient on short hops.

spec sheet

first flight

2014-07-26

status

in production

number built

5

role

reconnaissance/counter-insurgency

origin

🇿🇦 South Africa

makers

Paramount Group

engines

1× Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66 / PT6A-66B

length

10.3 m

wingspan

11.9 m

height

4 m

max take-off weight

3,800 kg

top speed

504 km/h

range

2,130 km

ceiling

9,450 m

wings

forward-swept wing

landing gear

retractable tricycle gear

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.