It seems extraordinary now that the British helicopter industry wasn't of any great significance during the 1950s, even as the platform started to become increasingly popular, yet it was from these fairly humble beginnings that the Lynx was born and became one of the most versatile rotary assets ever produced.
For many years Westland manufactured versions of the American company Sikorsky's family of helicopters under licence, frequently adding its own modifications to the designs, but it was not until various elements of the British helicopter industry actually began working together in the late 1950s and early 1960s that any original projects actually progressed beyond the concept stage and into something more concrete - such as an actual aircraft.
In 1964 Westland, using the WG prefix for its designs, began working on its own projects and it was the 13th of these that would eventually form the basis of the Lynx as we know it now. This was the helicopter which would replace the venerable Scout and Wasp, both then used by the British armed forces, and would offer an alternative to the American Huey, while making full use of advances in aerospace technology.
While the rotor, for example, was a completely new design and was semi-rigid, much of the WG.13 clearly took inspiration from the models it would replace. With this rotor, however, along with constant chord / cambered blades, it was possible to achieve a high blade tip velocity, with enhanced lift and reduced drag being further benefits. The rotor blades made use of modern materials and methods such as being manufactured with a honeycomb core, resulting in an aircraft which was bang up-to-date in terms of design technology but also simpler to maintain than competitive American-designed aircraft, including the famous Huey itself.
With a strong design proposal on the table, Westland was able to enter in to a co-production agreement with Aerospatiale in 1968 and, at this point, the Westland Lynx, as it was then titled, was earmarked for both naval (military) and civilian roles. The design's suitability for a far wider range of military operations quickly led to an expanded development programme under two titles - Army Lynx and Navy Lynx. The two basic configurations would of course become a common sight when in service and were designated the AH Mk.1 for the Army Air Corps and the HAS Mk.2 for the Navy.
Production was to be shared by Westland (70%) and Aerospatiale with the first of six prototypes flown for the first time on the 21st March 1971, somewhat later than originally planned; this being followed by the completion of no less than seven pre-production prototypes as part of a major plan to speed up the overall development of the aircraft. Part of the deal with Aerospatiale saw Britain commit to buying both Puma and Gazelle helicopters while France would order Lynx for both its Navy and Army, although the latter order was actually cancelled.
The Lynx demonstrated some of its capabilities when a number of rotary records were broken by the prototype in 1972. With Westland's Chief Test Pilot Roy Moxam at the controls, the Lynx broke the world speed record over a 15/25km stretch, flying at 321.74km/h, and it also set a new 100km closed circuit record flying at 318.504km/h a little while later.
Fast forward to 1986 and Westland's former demonstrator aircraft, registered G-LYNX, was specially modified with Gem 60 engines and BERP (British Experimental Rotor Programme) rotor blades. On the 11th August the helicopter, piloted by Trevor Egginton, set a new absolute speed record for helicopters over the 15/25 km course by reaching 400.87 km/h (249.09 mph), a record which still stands to this day incidentally. BERP blades were a result of work carried out by Westland and the Royal Aircraft Establishment to see whether a new design and materials could increase lift and speed and they are now a common sight on modern day helicopters.
Service trials for the Lynx commenced in 1976 with No.700L Naval Air Squadron at RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset and this unit acted as the Operational Evaluation Unit for both the Royal Navy and the Royal Netherlands Navy, an early export customer. An Army Air Corps trials unit was also established and was located at Middle Wallop in Hampshire.
Deliveries of production Lynx to operational units began in December 1977 with the Lynx entering service initially with Army squadrons based in West Germany. The first Royal Navy unit (No.702 Sqn) became operational at the same time and, by 1993, some 380 Army and Navy versions of the Lynx had been delivered to customers in 17 nations worldwide.
The British Army ordered more than 100 Lynx AH.1 which would fulfill a broad variety of roles, these ranging from tactical transport to armed escort, anti-tank warfare (for which the Lynx could be equipped with eight TOW missiles), battlefield reconnaissance and also CASEVAC (casualty evacuation).
The naval version, which unlike most of the ground-based Army versions which are fitted with skids for landing, has a non-retractable landing gear and the initial HAS Mk.2 version was ordered by both the Royal Navy and the French Aeronavale, although the latter's ASW equipment and armament differed somewhat - the former utilising four Sea Skua anti-ship missiles and the latter AS.12 missiles.
The later standard Lynx for the British Army, and one which remains in service today, is the AH Mk.7 with its Gem 41-1 engines, upgraded gearbox (from the interim AH.5 which was never mass produced) and new, bigger, tail rotor made of composite materials. The AH.7 was also later fitted with BERP type rotor blades. Twelve of the mark were built from new and a total of 107 Lynx AH.1s were converted, while a small number are still used by the Fleet Air Arm in support of the Royal Marines.
There is, however, one, even newer Lynx, in British Army service, in the shape of the AH Mk.9 and, as a result of further developments, the AH Mk.9A. The AH.9, sometimes called the Battlefield Lynx, is a utility version built specifically for Army Air Corps usage and was based on the AH.7 but with a wheeled undercarriage and further upgraded gearbox. Sixteen AH.9s were built plus an additional eight that were converted AH.7s.
The AH.9A's CTS800-4N engines were actually taken from the AW159 Future Lynx programme and the new powerplants produce 37% more power than the Gem engines that are fitted to the Lynx AH Mk.9, giving the aircraft a significant increase in power which allows the aircraft to operate in extreme hot and high conditions at much higher weights. The AH.9A, 12 of which were delivered last year, has been receiving rave reviews from Afghanistan ever since entering theatre.
The genesis of the FAA Lynx is a little more complex but, eventually, we reach the HMA Mk.8 used to this day. Initially the HAS.2 was improved to HAS Mk.3 standard with the addition of Gem 42-1 engines and a new gearbox. Thirty examples were built from new (deliveries starting in March 1982) and all remaining HAS.2s (53 examples) were then converted to HAS Mk.3 standard.
These were later modified for service in the Persian Gulf, with improved electronic warfare equipment, a revised IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) system and provision for Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) under the aircraft's fuselage. They were originally deployed for Gulf War 1 in 1990 / 1991 and designated HAS.3S/GM with GM denoting Gulf Modification. Seven HAS Mk.3 Lynx were then converted to HAS.3CTS as part of the plan to upgrade the whole fleet further and, with the FLIR moved to a turret above the nose, and the radar to a dome beneath it, a number of aircraft were modified to become the instantly recognisable HMA Mk.8 version.
Primarily used on surface warfare and anti-submarine duties, the Royal Navy's Mk.8 aircraft is equipped with an advanced Central Tactical System and Passive Identification Device and is able to fire the Sea Skua anti-surface missile, which proved highly effective during the Gulf War. In addition to the Sea Skua, the Lynx can also call upon the Sting Ray torpedo if necessary and, despite being somewhat older in technological terms, this remains one of the most effective tools for anti-submarine warfare. The aircraft can also be fitted with a door mounted machine gun.
One less operational role for the Mk.8 (and Mk.3 in previous years), but significant in other ways such as PR and recruitment, is with the Black Cats; the Royal Navy's hugely successful and extremely popular display team which operates a pair of the aircraft for airshows across the UK and Europe. This year's pilots are Lts Chris Chambers and Dave Fleming, both experienced Lynx pilots of course and therefore very well placed to tell GAR a little more about the aircraft in her 40th year.
"The versatility of the Lynx has always been the key thing," says Chris, "it's a good airframe and has also been flexible enough to develop as the Royal Navy's requirements have changed over the years.
"There have been many different fits and many different weapons and the Lynx has been able to keep up with that evolution throughout its career."
"The basic design, from square one, was to make sure that the Royal Navy's Lynx could operate successfully from a ship," adds Dave, "and I think that has played a part in its success too. It's got a tricycle undercarriage and a deck lock, which hasn't changed at all; it was designed to do a job and it does it very well.
"It can operate from a small deck, fold up in to a small space and do so with minimal crew and minimal support."
"And those are still key requirements today!" adds Chris.
"All we've done is adapt it along the way," Dave continues, "we've put cameras on, winches on, guns on and the Lynx has happily taken it all."
By modern standards the Lynx, even in Mk.8 guise, is showing its age. No glass cockpit for its pilots, for example, but with a Central Display Unit and a tactical system fully integrated with the radar, it's not exactly ready for retirement just yet either.
"It certainly doesn't feel like a 40 year old aircraft," agrees Chris, "although the Mk.8 is probably about as far as we can take the original airframe."
"Aircraft like the Squirrel and Merlin have a Head Damper which smoothes everything out and, while the Lynx doesn't have that, the new AW159 Wildcat will, albeit using essentially the same control system as the original aircraft," says Dave, "they even decided to use it without a digital flight control system and that says a lot for the original design I think."
"The fact that the aircraft still works so well on the front line is testament to that design too," adds Chris, "and of course the crews who fly her and the maintainers who look after that side of things. Lynx is an asset that can be, and is, called away for any manner of reasons at very short notice.
"Surface warfare and anti submarine warfare are our primary roles, but we could do disaster relief, search and rescue, load lifting, troop support - you name it..."
"It's very satisfying," agrees Dave, "and I suppose our only real restriction is load lifting capacity as we can't obviously lift as much as a Sea King or Merlin. But, if you are the only helicopter on a ship for 1000 miles and you get the call, as Lynx often will, you have to be ready to go and do the job."
The Lynx also generated considerable export success, of course. After lengthy evaluation it was chosen by the German Navy, Royal Netherlands Navy and the likes of Argentina, Brazil, Denmark, Norway, Nigeria, Portugal, South Korea and Thailand, among others. As befits the overall versatility of the Lynx, it fulfilled a variety of roles in foreign service but has mainly seen use conducting surface warfare, anti-submarine, SAR and transport duties.
And what of the future? Well, the AW159 Wildcat, formerly titled the Future Lynx, is the future in so far as UK military usage is concerned. The AW159 will take on the battlefield utility, search and rescue and anti-surface warfare roles and has been ordered for the British Army and Royal Navy. It is due to enter service with the Army in 2014 and with the RN in 2015 and has been developed from a programme which began as far back as 2002.
Both the Army and Naval variants are based on a single marinised airframe with a wheeled undercarriage, and the Wildcat is powered by two LHTEC CTS800 turboshaft engines, featuring a new composite produced tailboom, tailplane, tail rotor, nose structure and avionics suite. As further great testament to the original design, however, 5% of the aircraft's components will actually be sourced from existing AH.7 and HAM Mk.8 variants, both of which will continue in service for some time yet.
Despite the fact that we will see the Wildcat operating in far smaller numbers than it's older sister - just 62 are on order in total - it is clear that after a hugely successful four decades that the Lynx will live on, albeit in a far more capable and upgraded fashion.
If you would like to discuss using any of our imagery or feature content please contact us.