Helikoptertest

Taming the Wildcat

By 

Craig Hoyle

 on May 20, 2013 9:12 PM

We like a good exclusive here on Flightglobal, so I was happy to get the chance to tag along with our helicopter test pilot Peter Gray in late April, as he became the first civilian to fly AgustaWestland's new AW159.

Being delivered as the Wildcat to the British Army and UK Royal Navy (which have so far received 14 and four examples, respectively), the 6t type is intended to perform battlefield reconnaissance and ship-based surveillance and strike tasks for the services. AgustaWestland also has already won its first export success with the type, with the South Korean navy's first of eight anti-submarine/anti-surface warfare aircraft to enter final assembly next year.

The AW159 has had a 50:50 success rate in international competitions so far in its short life (the first prototype was flown in 2009); winning in South Korea but losing out to Sikorsky's MH-60R Seahawk in a nine-aircraft contest in Denmark.

AgustaWestland has effectively ditched the product name Lynx for its new aircraft, as part of an effort to promote an extended family of products for the military, civilian, VIP transport and other sectors. That might seem a bit drastic, given the long-term success of that brand, but as our flight test report explains, while the AW159 might look a fair bit like the Lynx of old, it's an entirely different beast.

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