Royal Navy Black Cats
Country
UK
Aircraft
AW159 Wildcat
Base
RNAS Yeovilton
AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat HMA.2
The AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat (previously called the Future Lynx and Lynx Wildcat) is a British military helicopter. It is an improved version of the Westland Super Lynx designed to serve in the battlefield utility, search and rescue and anti-surface warfare roles. In British service, common variants are being operated by both the Royal Navy and British Army, having replaced their Lynx Mk.7/8/9 predecessors. The AW159 has also been offered to several export customers and has been ordered by the Republic of Korea Navy and the Philippine Navy.
The AW159 Wildcat is a further development of the Westland Lynx. While the AW159 shares broad similarities in appearance to the Lynx, it has significant design differences and is heavily modernised and adapted to gain new attributes and functionality. The AW159 comprises 95% new components; the remaining 5%, consisting of such items as the fuel system and main rotor gearbox, are interchangeable with the Lynx AH7 and HMA8 variants. During development, the Army and Navy variants of the Wildcat reportedly maintained 98 per cent commonality with one another. The AW159 is the first helicopter by AgustaWestland to be designed inside an entirely digital environment. Among other changes, certain external elements of the Wildcat, such as the tail rotor, have been redesigned for greater durability and stealth qualities.
Both Army and Navy variants have a common airframe, which is manufactured by GKN Aerostructures; the airframe has been marinised for operations in the naval environment and provides for a greater airframe lifespan of 12,000 flight hours. The wheeled undercarriage is also strengthened for naval landings on both variants. The AW159 is powered by two 1,362 hp LHTEC CTS800 turboshaft engines which drive the rotorcraft's BERP IV rotor blades via a new transmission, increasing the maximum take-off weight by more than 1 ton over the legacy Super Lynx. It is equipped with a new composite tailboom, tailplane, tail rotor, nose structure and avionics suite. The naval version is also equipped with a SELEX Galileo Seaspray 7000E active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and L-3 Wescam MX-15HDi electro-optical/infrared nose turret. A glass cockpit comprises the primary human-machine interface, using four 255 x 200mm multifunction displays to provide information to the aircrew and interact with the avionics systems onboard.
The Wildcat featured an increased payload and range over the preceding Super Lynx; it is operationally required to carry up to 8 Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapons up to 185 kilometres from a host ship and remain on station for up to an hour. The type can perform aerial reconnaissance, anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), utility, fire control, command and control, and troop transport duties. In these varied mission roles, a range of munitions can be used. In June 2014, the Royal Navy awarded Thales Group a £48 million contract to deliver the Lightweight Multirole Missile (Martlet) for the Wildcat under the Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapons Light programme for targets such as small boats and fast attack craft. A Wildcat can carry four launchers each with five Martlets.
Many elements of the AW159's avionics are provided by Thales Group. The type is reported to possess significant ISTAR capabilities and improved situational awareness, achieved through its onboard integrated digital open systems architecture; it has been equipped with the Bowman communications system, allowing for data such as targeting and voice communications to be securely and seamlessly transmitted to friendly forces. Some AW159 models have been fitted with various General Dynamics-built mission systems, these include secured data recorders and tactical processing systems which integrate sensor data and application information for displaying within the cockpit as well as for retention within encrypted data storage. Other mission systems used on the Wildcat have been produced by BAE Systems. All variants of the Wildcat share the same defensive aids arrangement, which shares some commonality with the AgustaWestland Apache; features include missile warning sensors, countermeasures dispensers, and infrared exhaust suppressors.
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