- Yes
- No
Introduction: The Lynx HMA.8 is the final member of the lineage of Britain’s seagoing Lynxes in the service of the Fleet Air Arm. The type continued the legacy of its predecessors, and valiantly served until its retirement.
Description: The HMA.8 was the upgrade of the HAS.3 that brought it into the 21st Century. The most notable feature of this upgrade is the revised nose, which features a Sea Owl thermal imaging camera on top of the nose, with the Seaspray radar moved into a chin-mounted dome. This increase capability, but somewhat ruined the clean lines of the Lynx. The addition of FLIR was proven to be a good decision after experience in the Gulf War with the HAS.3GM and its pod-mounted proved the system to be useful. The Seaspray radar was improved with digital data handling, and its capabilities were improved as the years wore on. The engines were also refurbished and upgraded. Weapons remained the same as its forebears, with the Sea Skua being the primary weapon in Royal Navy use, with the Penguin being offered for export, with the Marte 2A being similarly proposed. In the late 90’s, the Polyphem was also considered for use on the Lynx, as a replacement of that missile. It was a serious contender, with studies being undertaken and trials set to take place, but the cancellation of that missile system meant that these never took place. Additionally, the Sea Venom anti-ship missile was also tested on an HMA.8.
Service: The HMA.8 was a Royal Navy specific variant based off of the SuperLynx 100 export model, which had been in development in the late 1980’s. This variant had improvements from the then ongoing research programs implemented onto it. Experience from the Lynx 3, of which a naval variant was planned, but never built, would ultimately be used on the SuperLynx family, and the HMA.8. Some HAS.3s were used to trial the upgrades for the HMA.8 and were given the designation HAS.3CTS. The prototype first flew in 1989, entering service in 1992. The type served valiantly wherever the Royal Navy took it, supporting operations in the Persian Gulf, Sierra Leone, the Adriatic and Mediterranean, conducting operations off of Royal Navy vessels until its retirement in 2017, when it was subsequently replaced by the AW159 Wildcat.
Performance:
Spoiler
Specifications:
Length: 43 ft 9.25 in (13.3414 m) including tail-rotor
Length overall: 50 ft (15.24 m)
Length folded: 35 ft 7.25 in (10.85 m)
Width folded: 9 ft 7.75 in (2.94 m)
Height folded: 10 ft 8 in (3.25 m)
Height: 12 ft 0.5 in (3.670 m) including tail-rotor
Main rotor diameter: 42 ft 0 in (12.80 m)
Main rotor area: 1,385.4 sq ft (128.71 m2)
Maximum speed: 175 kn (201 mph, 324 km/h)
Empty weight: 7,225 lb (3,277 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 11,750 lb (5,330 kg)
Operating weight:
ASW mission: 10,181 lb (4,618 kg) (2x torpedo)
ASV mission: 9,641 lb (4,373 kg) (2x Sea Skua)
Surveillance and targeting mission: 8,174 lb (3,708 kg)
SAR mission: 8,329 lb (3,778 kg)
Endurance: 5 hours 20 minutes with auxiliary fuel
Range: 285 nmi (328 mi, 528 km)
Combat range: 540 nmi (620 mi, 1,000 km) with auxiliary fuel
ASW: 20 nmi (23 mi; 37 km) with dipping sonar + one torpedo and 2 hours on station
Point attack: 125 nmi (144 mi; 232 km) with 4 x Sea Skua
Surveillance: 75 nmi (86 mi; 139 km) - 3 hours 50 minutes on station
Powerplant:
2 x LHTEC CTS800-4N turboshaft engines, 1,362 shp (1,016 kW) each for take-off, 1,267 shp (945 kW) maximum continuous
or
2 x Rolls-Royce Gem 42-1 - 1,000 / 890 shp (746 / 664 kW)
Armament:
2 x torpedoes or 4 x Sea Skua missiles or 2x Penguin missiles or 2 x depth charges or up to x4 Sea Venom or at least x2 Marte 2A or 4x Polyphem
1 x Caliber 0.50 Browning AN/M3M heavy machine gun (door)
Penguin:
Marte 2A:
Sea Venom:
Polyphem:
Conclusion: I believe that this would be a great addition to the UK helicopter tree in a potential naval line, between the HAS.3 and Wildcat HMA.2.
Sources:
Spoiler
[2.0] Naval Lynxes / Next-Generation Lynxes & Derivatives
Lynx HAS.2 HMA.8 Helicopter Royal Navy Agusta Westland
WESTLAND LYNX HMA.8 - Pima Air & Space
Westland Lynx Anti-Tank, ASW and Transport Helicopter | MilitaryToday.com
British Helicopter Tech Tree - Discussion Topic - #100 by da12thmonkey