scanned Seaspray being restricted to a
180° forward-looking scan] and multi-
sensor MX-15Di electro-optical/infra-
red turret.
‘The Lynx has always been a weapon
system that belongs to the ship...
the Wildcat is now a weapon system
that operates from the ship. It can be
completely independent, and that’s how it
needs to be used.’
The operational context has also
changed. ‘Within the way we’re moving
[back] towards a carrier task group, the
Wildcat is basically the ‘ring of steel’
around that group’, he explained. ‘So while
we’re not part of the main ORBAT [order
of battle] for the carrier, there will always
be a minimum of two Wildcats with the
task group.
‘We’ll be the eyes and ears of that
force within that 50 to 100nm radius.
The Merlins and their Crowsnest
[system] will do their ‘far eyes’ [wide-area
surveillance] piece, but we are now a full
ISTAR [intelligence, surveillance, target
acquisition and reconnaissance] capability.’
Whereas the Lynx was always thought
of as the FAA’s ‘sports car’, a fast and
agile two-seater able to race around at
the calling of its mother ship, the vastly
improved sensor and tactical capabilities
of the Wildcat have conditioned a very
different concept of operations. ‘In the
old days [of the Lynx] we would fly down
to the south coast [from Yeovilton] at a
few hundred feet, pop up, turn the radar
on, look at everything’, says Carnie. ‘With
Wildcat, we can still do 160kt straight and
level with loads of power in hand. But we
don’t fly around like that anymore.
‘Now we climb vertically out of here to
4,000ft, and within five minutes I will have
tracked, identified, and passed back all thecontacts on the south coast and the Bristol
Channel. Even sitting [above Yeovilton]
using the camera we can look out to at
least 90nm to be able to positively ID any
contact of reasonable size in that area. The
more height, and the better the weather,
the better the range. We can ID to type, if
not to name, a contact at 80 miles.’
He adds, ‘The [Seaspray 7400] radar has
far exceeded our expectations. Compared
to the Mk8, it has a full 360° scan,
extended range and it can do MTI [moving
target indication] against both surface and
air targets. It also gives us high-resolution
strip SAR [synthetic aperture radar], spot
SAR, and ISAR [inverse synthetic aperture
radar] imaging modes.’
Richardson is another long-time Lynx
aviator who has seen at first hand the
mindset change brought about by theWildcat. ‘Operating down low — 100ft
and below — with a Sea Skua and acting
as a ‘probe’ asset is very much what the
Lynx has done over the years. But that is
certainly not the case with Wildcat.
‘The way that we are operating now is
that we are launching, going up to height,
performing sensor compilation to get a
recognized maritime picture, sanitizing
the area, and then passing that situational
awareness down to either a commander
at sea, or a land force commander.’Data exchange
One enduring shortfall of the Lynx
HMA8 that remains a constraint for
the Wildcat HMA2 is the absence of a
datalink to facilitate automated tactical
data exchange. ‘We’re still voice comms’,
acknowledges Carnie. ‘We do have the
ability to record the whole sortie in the
aircraft and then bring that back on board,
but right now we can’t transfer that sensor
data electronically while we’re in the air.
‘Getting datalink into the aircraft is
high up on the list of priorities the Royal
Navy wishes to invest in’, Richardson
adds. ‘The fact is that it is competing
against capabilities that are required for
the aircraft carrier and that is very much
the focus and priority of the navy at
the moment.
‘So, it is recognized, accepted, and
everyone agrees it needs to happen. The
issue is in which budget it gets funded.’
Aside from the tactical datalink, there
are two other items on the wish list, both
already implemented on the Republic of
Korea Navy’s AW159 Maritime OperationsAbove: The
Wildcat HMA2
(foreground)
offers much-
improved
radar, EO/IR
and electronic
surveillance
performance
compared to the
Lynx HMA8 it has
replaced.
Richard Scott/
Navypix
Below: Lynx
farewell: four Lynx
HMA8s from 815
NAS completed a
flypast around the
south and
south-west of
England during
March 2017.
Crown Copyrighthttp://www.combataircraft.net // March 2018 67
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