The Westland Lynx is a helicopter designed by Westland and built at Westland's factory in Yeovil, first flying on 21 March 1971 as the Westland WG.13. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led to the development of both battlefield and naval variants, which went into operational usage in 1977 and were later adopted by the armed forces of over a dozen nations. The helicopter is now produced and marketed by AgustaWestland.
As part of the Anglo-French helicopter agreement signed in February 1967 the French company Aérospatiale were given a workshare in the manufacturing programme.
When piloted by Roy Moxam in 1972, it broke the world record over 15 and 25 km by flying at 321.74 km/h. It also set a new 100 km closed circuit record shortly afterwards, flying at 318.504 km/h. In 1986, a specially modified Westland Lynx piloted by John Egginton set an absolute speed record for helicopters over a 15 and 25 km course by reaching 400.87 km/h (249.09 mp/h). The Lynx is one of the most agile helicopters in the world, capable of performing loops and rolls.
The British Army ordered 100 Lynx AH (Army Helicopter) Mk.1 for various roles, including tactical transport, armed escort, anti-tank warfare (with eight TOW missiles), reconnaissance and evacuation. The Army has fitted a Marconi Elliot AFCS system onto the Lynx for automatic stabilisation on three axis.The Lynx's most prominent combat role was operating the Sea Skua to devastating effect against the Iraqi Navy during the 1991 Gulf War. The Lynx also saw service with British Army forces during that conflict. It had already made its first combat operations in British service during the Falklands War in the 80s. None were shot down, but three were lost aboard vessels hit by Argentine bombs or Exocets, one on the MV Atlantic Conveyor and one each on board HMS Coventry and HMS Ardent.On 22 June 2006 the UK Ministry of Defence awarded Westland a £1 billion contract for 70 Future Lynx helicopters under a strategic partnering agreement with AgustaWestland. The programme will provide the British Army and Royal Navy with 40 and 30 aircraft respectively, with an option for a further 10, split.Depending on the variant and model (and there are many), the Lynx can feature skids or a tricycle landing gear. Armament for the aircraft is mission-specific and varies from country to country. A typical anti-loadout for the system is 8 x TOW anti-tank missiles. Pintle-mounted machine guns are available for suppression effect in the transport or assault role. Cannons can also be mounted on the fuselage sides for added firepower. Naval variants have featured anti-ship and anti-submarine weaponry when needed.
The Lynx's spacious interior cabin features accommodation for the pilot and up to twelve passengers in the transport role and placement for six litters in the MedEvac role. The Lynx has seen service with a plethora of countries in a variety of roles. The British Army received the initial AH.1 variant in 1977 with the AH.9 representing one of the latest incarnations. The AH-9 introduced the tricycle retracting landing gear system, composite construction of the main rotor blades for durability, an increased MTOW and the removal of the TOW missile assembly. The AH-9 serves mainly in the transport role with a few modified as "airborne command posts".
The British Army utilizes the Lynx AH.7 in combat scout roles alongside their American-made WAH-64 Apaches (similar to the role that the Kiowa Warrior serves alongside the AH-64 in the United States Army).
Intended modernization upgrades for the base Lynx systems include (or will include) the addition of GPS tracking, upgraded defensive systems, updated avionics and the tricycle landing gear system as standard (instead of the skids found on earlier models).
General characteristics
* Crew: 2 or 3
* Length: 15.24 m (50 ft)
* Rotor diameter: 12.80 m (42 ft)
* Height: 3.67 m (12 ft 0.5 in)
* Disc area: 1,385.4 m (128.71 sq ft)
* Empty weight: 3,291 kg (7,255 lb)
* Max takeoff weight: 5,330 kg (11,750 lb)
* Powerplant: 2× Rolls-Royce Gem, 835 kW (1,120 shp) each
Performance
* Maximum speed: 321.74 km/h (201.00 mph)
* Cruise speed: 254 km/h (158 mph)
* Range: 528 km (328 miles [standard tanks])
equally between Army and Navy.
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