AgustaWestland AW159

Westland Lynx Wildcat
Type:	Military multipurpose helicopter
Design country:	United Kingdom
Manufacturer:	Leonardo SpA (formerly AgustaWestland )
First flight:	November 12, 2009
Commissioning:	2014
Production time:	since 2010
Number of pieces:	62 (as of January 2017)

The AgustaWestland AW159 Lynx Wildcat (formerly called Future Lynx ) is a military helicopter that is a further development of the Westland WG13 in its latest version, the Super Lynx military helicopter . The AW159 is used as a close air support , SAR and anti-submarine helicopter. The British Army Air Corps (AAC) received the first machines in 2014, the Royal Navy in 2015.

development

On June 22, 2006, the British Ministry of Defense awarded AgustaWestland an initial order worth GBP 1 billion for 70 Future Lynx helicopters. The program envisaged making 40 Battlefield Reconnaissance Helicopters (BRH) available to the British Army and 30 Surface Combatant Maritime Rotorcraft (SCMR) to the Royal Navy , with an option for five additional helicopters each for both branches of the armed forces. In December 2008, however, the number was reduced to 62 copies (34 for AAC and 28 for FAA).

The Future Lynx became the AW159 on April 24, 2009 , which will be called the Lynx Wildcat in the British armed forces . The first machine (BRH version) completed its maiden flight on November 12, 2009 in Yeovil , the second (BRH / SCMR) in October and the third (SCMR) and last in November 2010. The 66 copies ordered - in 2011 the order was changed four increased - should enter the UK Armed Forces between 2011 and 2017.

In January and February 2012, the prototype completed 390 landings on the south-west coast of England, in the Irish Sea and off the north coast of Scotland on board the British guided missile frigate HMS Iron Duke (F 234) , including 148 at night. Deliveries were initially made to the 700 (W) Naval Air Squadron at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton for training purposes, and regular units have also been supplied since 2015. During the BALTOPS 2017 maneuver in the Baltic Sea, an SCMR variant was stationed as an on-board helicopter on the HMS Iron Duke.

mission

The tasks of a BRH of the land forces include C2 (English for Command & Control), troop and material transport, as well as close air support and reconnaissance. The SCMR Wildcat is designed as an on- board helicopter, especially for ship-based use from frigates and destroyers . The primary task is to combat surface and underwater targets with torpedoes , depth charges and, in the future, the Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon . The marine equipment includes an active 360 ​​° surveillance radar of the type Selex Galileo Seaspray 7400E, an optronic tower with the infrared system L-3 Wescam MX-20 with laser illuminator , electronic support measures, data transmission via Link 16 and an integrated HIDAS defense system Selex Galileo.

construction

Side view

The Wildcat is a monocoque construction, with aluminum alloys being used for the load-bearing parts and fiberglass-reinforced plastic in the rear . The army and naval helicopters are 98% identical, which means that they can be easily converted for the respective role. The angular design (especially of the stern) as in the NH90, as well as the novel shape of the main rotor blades, reduce the radar signature. However, the construction is not primarily based on stealth technology. It is not known whether radar-absorbing materials ( RAM ) are used, but plastics also do not reflect radar rays. Due to the current war experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, the reduction of heat radiation at the engine outlets was weighted more heavily, among other things, the outlet is directed upwards and cooled by mixed air, which makes attacks with heat-seeking missiles more difficult.

The cockpit is completely digital and consists of 4 large flat screens, which are framed by individually assignable buttons and a number of smaller screens. There are no analog instruments. The redundantly designed on-board computer automatically displays the information required in hazardous situations.

variants

AH Mk.1

The first series is a multi-purpose helicopter for army aviation. It is designed for the tasks described above - close air support and the use of special forces . The construction of 38 new units is planned, 8 of them for the special operations commandos, first flight in 2012.

HMA Mk.2

The second variant is an on- board helicopter for naval aviators in the Royal Navy for use on destroyers and frigates . The tasks include fighting surface ships, anti- submarine hunting and search and rescue (SAR) tasks. The construction of 28 new helicopters is planned. The first flight in series production took place in 2013.

Mk.210

The export version for the Korean Navy is based on the HMA Mk.2; 8 pieces built.

Mk.220

The export version for the Philippine Navy is based on the HMA Mk.2; 2 pieces built.

Technical specifications

Data	Wildcat AH Mk.1
Hull length	15.24 m
Rotor diameter	12.80 m
height	3.73 m
drive	2 × LHTEC CTS800 (each 1281 WPS)
Top speed	291 km / h
Operating speed	k. A.
Range	777 km
Rate of climb	k. A.
Maximum mass	5790 kg

Armament

Although the Wildcat is based on the Lynx, not all previous weapons have been integrated. The planned weapon systems must first be tested in the Wildcat and integrated into the system.

Army Wildcat

Internally mounted on rotating ball mounts in both opened side doors

• 2 × 7.62 mm FN L7A2 GPMG machine guns with several belt boxes for 200 rounds of ammunition each

Navy Wildcat

Internally mounted on rotating ball mounts in both opened side doors

• 2 × 7.62 mm FN L7A2 GPMG machine guns with several belt boxes for 200 rounds of ammunition each
• 2 × heavy 12.7 mm FN Herstal M3M machine guns with several belt boxes for 110 rounds of ammunition each

planned armament

Gun load of 550 kg on two gun carriers

Anti-ship missile

• 4 × Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon light (FASGW-L)
• 4 × Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon heavy (FASGW-H)
• 4 × Thales Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM) guided missile launch container with 7 guided LMM air-to-ground aircraft

Users

 United Kingdom

The British armed forces have all stationed the machines in one place, the RNAS Yeovilton .

Heer , Army Air Corps : 34 AH Mk.1

1st regiment with the 652nd and 661st Squadron

Marine , Fleet Air Arm : 28 HMA Mk.2

825th and 847th Naval Air Squadron (Royal Marines)

 South Korea

Navy : 8 Mk.210 (delivery 2016/17)

 Philippines

Navy : 2 Mk.220 (delivery 2019)

Comparable naval helicopters

• AgustaWestland A109 LUH (Light Utility Helicopter)
• Airbus Helicopters AS565 MB "Panther"
• Bell Helicopter Textron UH-1Y "Venom"
• Kamow Ka-27 PLM "Helix-A"
• NHIndustries NH90 NFH
• Sikorsky MH-60R "Seahawk"

Web links

Commons : AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• AW159 product website (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Marines' new battlefield helicopter tries its hand over the ocean. June 16, 2017, accessed June 18, 2017 . 
2. ↑ South Korean NAVY receives first batch of AW159 Wildcat maritime helicopters Defense Blog, June 19, 2016
3. ↑ Philippines receives AW159 helicopters Janes, May 8, 2018
4. ↑ Air Forces Monthly No. 301, April 2013, pages 47/48, Key Publishing Ltd
5. ↑ Leonardo Helicopters looks after Wildcats. Flug Revue , January 10, 2017, accessed January 10, 2017 . 
6. ↑ Last Wildcat delivered to the Royal Navy. Flug Revue, October 28, 2016, accessed January 10, 2017 . 
7. ^ South Korea Navy commissions final batch of AW159 anti-submarine helicopters. (No longer available online.) Janes July 6, 2017, archived from the original on July 7, 2017 ; Retrieved July 9, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
8. ↑ Philippine Navy to receive ASW helicopters in March 2019. Janes, July 26, 2018, accessed July 26, 2018 .