New Helicopter Being Built For U.K. Ministry Of Defense
AgustaWestland says that the first AW159 multi-role military
helicopter successfully completed its maiden flight at
AgustaWestland's Yeovil facility Thursday, with AgustaWestland
Chief Test Pilot, Donald Maclaine, at the controls. The aircraft
completed a range of general handling checks during the flight and
performed as expected. It will be joined by two further aircraft in
2010 to complete the flight testing of the AW159 and the wide range
of role equipment the aircraft will carry.
Giuseppe Orsi, CEO, AgustaWestland, said "The successful first
flight of the AW159 is great company achievement. Designed and
developed to meet the UK MoD's demanding requirements for a
multi-role military helicopter the AW159 will be the most cost
effective, capable and advanced helicopter in its class. Our highly
skilled engineers and technicians can be proud to have achieved
this remarkable result on schedule and on budget, so confirming our
commitment to maintaining critical design, engineering and
technological know-how in the UK to go on effectively supporting
the MoD."
Nick Whitney, VP UK Government Business Unit, AgustaWestland,
watching the historic event said "It gives me great pleasure to see
the AW159 flying exactly on schedule as we promised in June 2006
when the contract was signed. The fact the AW159 program has
achieved every major milestone on time and on budget is great
testament to the Strategic Partnering Arrangement and the
commitment of our supply chain. The AW159 promises to continue the
remarkable success the Lynx has achieved in service worldwide and
we, along with our partners, are now focused on completing the
development of the aircraft and delivering the first aircraft in
2011."
The maiden flight of the AW159, which will be known as Lynx
Wildcat in UK military service, marks a major milestone in the
development of this new six-ton multi-role military helicopter, 62
of which have been ordered by the UK Ministry of Defence for the
Army and Royal Navy, to perform both land and maritime missions.
The first aircraft will be delivered in 2011 with the aircraft
becoming fully operational with the Army in 2014 and the Royal Navy
in 2015. The British Army's AW159 Lynx Wildcat will perform a wide
range of tasks on the battlefield including reconnaissance, command
and control, transportation of troops and materiel, and the
provision of force protection. The Royal Navy variant will
provide an agile maritime capability providing anti-surface warfare
capability and force protection and will operate in support of
amphibious operations and be an important element in defending
ships against surface threats. There will be a high degree of
commonality between the Army and Royal Navy helicopters that will
mean that an aircraft can switch roles easily, principally through
the changing of role equipment.
The AW159 is powered by two new generation CTS800 engines, each
capable of continuously producing 1281 shp giving the aircraft
exceptional hot and high performance. The aircraft has an all up
mass of 5790 kg with a built in capability to increase that to 6250
kg. The cockpit includes a fully integrated display system
utilizing four 10x8 inch primary displays. Sensors include a nose
mounted IR/TV imager with built in laser designator and for the
maritime variant the Selex Galileo 7400E 360 degree active array
radar. The AW159 also has a comprehensive integrated defensive aids
suite comprising a missile warning system, radar warning receivers
and a countermeasures dispensing system. Additionally the AW159
will e capable of carrying a range of weapons including machine
guns, torpedoes, depth charges and the Future Anti-Surface Guided
Weapon (FASGW).