Augusta Westland Lynx AH9 & AH9A

The British Army's remaining Lynx AH9 utility helicopters will be modified to AgustaWestland's improved AH9A configuration, following the recent receipt of Ministry of Defence approval to extend the effort to all 22 aircraft.

AgustaWestland late in 2009 delivered the first four of 12 Lynxes to be upgraded under an urgent operational requirement deal to support operations in Afghanistan, and said discussions were under way on an option to also adapt the service's additional 10 AH9 airframes.
"There has been a recent endorsement for all 22 AH9s to be upgraded, and for the out-of-service date to be extended to 2016," says Lt Col David Meyer, commanding officer of 7 (Training) Regiment at the School of Army Aviation at Middle Wallop, Hampshire.

AgustaWestland confirms: “The AH9A follow-on contract is likely to be this month.”

Now equipped with more powerful Honeywell/Rolls-Royce LHTEC CTS800-4N engines, hybrid analogue/digital rockpits and secure communications equipment, the army's first AH9As will soon be deployed to Afghanistan.
The modified type will be capable of operating under the hot weather conditions experienced in the country between May and September, unlike the baseline AH9 model.
Lynx pilots will undergo a 5h conversion course before operating the AH9A, plus seven weeks of specific training on the type.

Meanwhile, Meyer told IQPC's Military Flight Training conference in London that the army intends to overhaul its current training system to better prepare aircrew to operate its Westland/[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Apache AH1 attack helicopters and next-generation Lynx Wildcats.
"Our frontline types are outstripping the training fleet, and we need to close that gap," he says. The service also wants to address its current "disparate and broken" training model, which uses three separate locations, and move to all-rotary instruction, he adds.
After receiving basic fixed-wing instruction, British Army pilots undergo initial rotorcraft training using the UK Defence Helicopter Flying School's single-engined [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] AS350 Squirrel HT2s. But Meyer says the demands of operating types such as the Apache and Lynx Wildcat mean that training is "not about sticks and poles anymore".

One of the UK's major successes of the past year has been the performance of its upgraded AgustaWestland Lynx AH9A utility helicopters in Afghanistan.

"Hot and high" environmental conditions in the country had meant the Lynx was not operationally effective during the summer months. However, a modernisation programme has equipped the Army Air Corps' former 22 Lynx AH9s with more powerful LHTEC T800 engines and new avionics, and transformed the type into a valuable, year-round asset. Since April 2010, enhanced AH9As have been able to perform all three mission tasks required in Afghanistan - lift, find and strike.

The aircraft can carry between two and four passengers, depending on the time of year, and be equipped with an L-3 Wescam MX-15 electro-optical/infrared sensor and a 12.7mm door gun. But the imminent use of the smaller and lighter-weight MX-10 payload will enable the type to instead carry an M3M 0.50cal machine gun. This will enable the Lynx to perform more strike duties and free-up capacity on the army's deployed Westland/[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Apache AH1 attack helicopters.

Other uses for the Lynx AH9A in the past 16 months have included its employment as an airborne command and control post, and as an armed escort for Afghan air force [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] transport helicopters flying resupply missions.

• [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] CH-47 Chinooks / [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] HC2,
  
• [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Puma transport
  
• RAF Merlin transports
  
• AgustaWestland AW101
  
• Lynx AH9A,
  
• [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]
  
• Westland/Boeing Apache AH1 attack helicopter.