Westland Naval Lynx (HAS.2 / HAS.3 / HMA.8)
Wheels, folding rotors and a deck lock — the frigate helicopter of a dozen navies · First flight 1976 · Retired (Royal Navy) 2017
The naval Lynx replaced the Army skids with a wheeled undercarriage and added folding main-rotor blades and a deck-lock harpoon so the helicopter could operate from small frigate decks. The Royal Navy's HAS.2 flew on 10 February 1976; 60 were built and it carried Sea Spray radar and Sea Skua anti-ship missiles, while the French version used AS.12. The HAS.3 brought Gem 42-1 engines and an uprated gearbox — 30 were built new from 1982 and all HAS.2s were converted.
In the 1990s HAS.3s were upgraded to HMA.8 standard using Super Lynx technology: Gem 42-200 engines, BERP main rotor blades, the larger reverse-direction tail rotor, a FLIR turret above the nose and the radar moved to a radome underneath. The Royal Navy formally retired the Lynx on 23 March 2017, handing the role to the AW159 Wildcat.
Export naval Lynx served widely: Brazil was the first foreign operator in 1978, France took 26 Mk.2(FN) and 14 Mk.4(FN) (retired 4 September 2020), the Netherlands flew UH-14A/SH-14 versions until 2012, Germany 19 Mk.88s with dipping sonar, Denmark Mk.80/90s until 2011 and Norway Mk.86s until 2014.
