In our previous Wargame: Red Dragon posts, we highlighted the various combat arms of the South African Defense Force as they appear in our upcoming, new Wargame: Red Dragon - Nation Pack: South Africa.
We’ll go even deeper this time and lift the veil on how each unit will be featured in-game, including their weapon and transport options. First up on the stage, the almighty grunt - Infantry.
Mind you, please treat all the following as work in progress - subject to change!
Boots on the ground
Before we continue, let’s have a happy family shot, and we let you guess who’s who!
The SADF Infantry (as “foot soldiers” in general, not just the INF ones) will be composed of:
- BOKKOP. Your regular soldier, available in all decks (except Airborne). These troops can deploy in all manners of transports (soft-skin, Buffel, Casspir, Ratel, Puma helicopters). They feature R1 (~FN FAL) battle rifles, RPG-7 and Bren LMG. An upgraded ’90 variant will come with R4 (~Galil) assault rifles, FT5 and FN MAG.
- MECHBAT are your “armored” soldiers, available in Mechanized and Armored decks. Their main ride will be the Ratel APC (and variants). They are armed with R2 (R1 with folding stock) battle rifles, LRAC F1, and SS-77 machine-gun. An upgraded ’90 variant will feature the R5 (R4 with folding stock) assault rifles, FT5 and SS-77.
- PARABAT are airborne soldiers, available in Airborne and Motorized decks. They will be transported either in soft-skin trucks or the Buffel - and of course helicopters. Armed with R2 battle rifles, RPG-7 and SS-77, the upgraded ’90 variant deploys with R5 assault rifles, FT5 and Mini-SS (~Minimi).
- BUFFALOS represent the famous “32 Battalion” with its Portuguese-speaking Angolan troops. They are available in all decks, except for Armored and Mechanized. Being light infantry and used to live in enemy territory, they are 15-man squads armed initially with former Portuguese weapons: G3 battle rifles, HK21 LMG, and the ubiquitous RPG-7. Later, an upgraded ’85 variant features AKM, RPD, and MILAN missiles.
- SAPPERS are 5-man squads armed with R1 battle rifles and old-school Lifebuoy flamethrowers. They are available in all decks and can be deployed with all transports.
- BURGERMAG are 10-man militia squad, armed with R1 battle rifles and a Super Bazooka. They are accessible in all decks, except for Airborne or Marine, and can only deploy in soft-skin transports or Buffel APCs.
Other Units
Some more specialized units are:
- MILAN teams are the only infantry ATGM available to SADF. They are available in all decks and with all transports.
- STRELA-2 and STRELA-3 teams. These are SADF’s (captured) MANPAD squads. They are available in all decks and with all transports. Available in 1988 yet considered as a prototype in-game are the STINGERS (UNITA) squads. These teams are anti-communist Angolan allies of the SADF, which had access to this more modern MANPAD while South Africa’s forces - under international embargo - weren’t.
- KOMMANDANT are the SADF commanders, available in all decks (except for Armored) coming in all transports.
- B-10 (UNITA) is the first FIST option for the SADF. These are available in all decks, with the B-10 being the same RCL as the Chinese license-produced Type 78 used by the TÁNKÈ SHĀSHǑU. The second squad option is the Inflict, available from 1985 in Airborne and Support decks. This team deploys with a single 107mm MLRS tube used as “pocket artillery” by South African airborne troops.
Special Forces and Recon
The list continues!
- SASF. The crème de la crème of the SADF, available in all decks except for Armored and Support, and with all transports except for the Ratel. Armed with R5 battle rifles, LRAC F1 and Strela MANPAD, they also come in a ’90 variant with R5 battle rifles, APILAS and Stinger.
- SASF SNIPER. These are elite 2-man recon teams equipped with the (then prototype) Denel NTW-20 heavy sniper rifle. This weapon can be considered a NATO counterpart to the Yugoslavian SENKE.
- TRACKERS. Recon squads as light scouts, armed with R1 battle rifles and Bren LMG, and are available in all decks and with soft-skin, Buffel, and helicopter transports.
- PARA PATHFINDERS is another recon squad restricted to Airborne and Motorized. Available from 1983 in the same transports as PARABAT, but armed with R5 assault rifles, HK21 LMG, and Y-2 automatic grenade launcher.
Transport options
Our SADF grunt will hitch a ride on the battlefield in one of five transport families:
- SAMIL - soft-skin trucks
- BUFFEL - light APC
- CASSPIR - light APC, including the K-Car variant with a 20mm autocannon.
- RATEL - IFV, and while classified as light in terms of armor, these vehicles can sport heavier ornaments. This includes the Ratel 20 (20mm autocannon), Ratel 20 MILAN (same with additional MILAN), Ratel 60 (60mm mortar) and the Ratel 90 (you guessed it… with a 90mm gun).
- PUMA 330H - a helicopter, which also includes its domestically upgraded Oryx variant (equal to a Super Puma).
Nation Pack: South Africa in detail
In case you’ve missed it, we’ve already covered the combat arms historical context of this upcoming Nation Pack:
- We have put a spotlight on the all-important grunt: SADF Infantry. Read all about it here.
- We also took a look at the SADF Armor force, which you can read more about here.
- The flyboys claim all the glory in our SAAF Air Force article, which you can read here.
- Hugging the earth, SADF’s rotorcraft fleet get a special treatment in our Helicopter showcase, which you can read here.
What will the South Africa Nation Pack bring?
Wargame: Red Dragon - Nation Pack: South Africa will feature:
- 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, aie boet!
- These include the ubiquitous Casspir and Ratel APCs (in numerous variants, from IFV, recon, command, mortar, and even SAM), the Rooikat wheeled tank (including variants and prototypes), Eland (license-produced French AML), Cactus (French Crotale), the only tracked Olifant MBT, many armed variants of locally made SAMIL trucks (Ystervark and Bosvark SPAAG, Valkiri and Bateleur MLRS), to the iconic G6 Renoster self-propelled howitzer.
- The Air Force includes old Buccaneer[/], [b]Vampire and Impala as close-air support, and several French Mirage variants and the locally modified Cheetah as fighter and multirole aircraft. Furthermore, you will find the Atlas Carver prototype, the first full South African prototype plane design (which never left the drawing board).
- Helicopters include the French Alouette III, Puma, Super Frelon and their locally produced versions and prototypes such as the K-Car, Oryx and XTP-1 Beta. You’ll also be able to deploy South Africa’s very own attack helicopter design, the badass-looking Rooivalk.
- Infantry will include Bokkop regular riflemen, Parabat paratroopers, SASF special forces, and many more units such as militia, recon, MANPADS, engineers. You will find Portuguese-speaking Angolan UNITA squads, as well as SADF’s own 32 Battalion (the Buffalos), as veteran light infantry formation.
- SADF weaponry features imported or locally built R1 and R4 rifles, SS-77 and Mini-SS MG, LRAC and APILAS LAW, but also the more original HK-21, FT5, Inflict and, of course, the iconic Y2 grenade-launcher and NTW-20.
What happens next?
That’s it for now. Hope you enjoyed the read! We’ll be seeing you in two weeks!
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