Aircrafttotal Encyclopedia


Wildcat HMA2 naval variant in 2013
Role	Utility, SAR and ASuW helicopter
National origin	United Kingdom, Italy
Manufacturer	AgustaWestland Leonardo
First flight	12 November 2009
Introduction	29 August 2014 (AH1)
Status	In service
Primary users	British Army Royal Navy Republic of Korea Navy Philippine Navy
Produced	2009–present
Developed from	Westland Super Lynx

The AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat (previously called the Future Lynx and Lynx Wildcat) is a military helicopter, developed by the British-Italian helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland, and later marketed by the Italian aerospace company Leonardo. It is an improved version of the Westland Super Lynx designed to serve in the battlefield utility, search and rescue, aerial reconnaissance, anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), utility, command and control, and troop transport duties.

In 1995, the British Government announced that the Royal Navy's existing Westland Lynx helicopters were to be replaced; at that point, the service was intended to operate an all-Merlin fleet.[7] Despite this stated intent, Westland Helicopters continued to hold talks with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to find a future role for the type during the late 1990s; the firm issued multiple proposals to either extend the life of the existing Super Lynx through upgrade programmes or more ambitious remanufacturing programmes incorporating varying degrees of new components.[8] In 2002, the Future Lynx project originated in two studies to determine the suitability of a derivative of the Super Lynx 300 to replace the existing Lynx helicopters of the Royal Navy and British Army.

Design

An AW159 Wildcat (lower) flying alongside a Lynx (upper), its predecessor, July 2014

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

Aeromacchi Leonardo

AgustaWestland (now Leonardo)
AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat ASuW SAR/utility

General Info

Crew: 2 pilots
Capacity: 6 passengers, including door gunner
Length: 15.24 m (50 ft 0 in)
Height: 3.73 m (12 ft 3 in)
Empty weight: 3,300 kg (7,275 lb)

Powerplant

Max takeoff weight: 6,000 kg (13,228 lb) Powerplant: 2 × LHTEC CTS800-4N turboshaft, 1,015 kW (1,361 hp) each Main rotor diameter: 12.8 m (42 ft 0 in) Main rotor area: 128.7 m² (1,385 sq ft)

Performance

Maximum speed: 311 km/h
Range: 777 km (483 mi, 420 nmi)
Ferry range: 963 km
Endurance: Two hours and 15 minutes (Four hours and 30 minutes with auxiliary fuel tanks)

Related development

- Pintle-mounted machine gun, e.g. FN MAG (Army) or Browning M3M (Navy).

Special Links AgustaWestland now Leonardo

Links to Youtube & Others

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.

AgustaWestland
AgustaWestland AW159

The Wildcat is a multi-role helicopter operated by Naval Air Squadron 847 (NAS 847) Commando Helicopter Force.

Youtube Link

The Wildcat is a multi-role helicopter operated by Naval Air Squadron 847 (NAS 847) Commando Helicopter Force.

Leonardo / AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat AH-1 ASuW