Paramount has disclosed the first details about its Mwari aircraft’s operational performance for early customer Mozambique, describing the type as having “played a key role in counter-insurgency operations”.
A first example of the South African-built Mwari was deployed in northern Mozambique by the nation’s air force in December 2022, “providing reconnaissance and surveillance support”, the airframer says.
That aircraft recently returned to the company’s production facility at Wonderboom airport near Pretoria for maintenance, with the asset to undergo its first C-check.
Paramount has previously delivered instruction to pilots from Mozambique, and on 2 October announced that “new groups of crew have started their training this week”.
Mozambique has purchased three Mwari aircraft, while fellow customer the Democratic Republic of the Congo has ordered six.
Paramount describes the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-engined two-seater as a “relatively inexpensive alternative to high-end military aircraft for surveillance, maritime patrol and counter-insurgency operations”, with the platform also suitable for training duties.
Equipment options include a Hensoldt Argos II or Paramount Advanced Technologies 420 electro-optical/infrared sensor, and Thales’s Avni intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance payload, the company says. “Future options could include a synthetic aperture radar”, it adds.
The short take-off and landing Mwari also is offered as an armed platform, with the ability to carry a maximum of 1,000kg (2,200lb) of ordnance beneath its wing.
Read FlightGlobal test pilot Michael Gerzanics’ evalution of the Mwari.
