Portuguese Men of War Lynx Takes on Anti-Piracy Mission

摘要

The Esquadrilha de Helicopteros of the Portuguese Navy is a small unit, yet with its Lynx helicopters it plays an important role in the international naval operations against piracy in the waters off the Horn of Africa. ROM 1917, the Portuguese naval aviation service operated a large variety of aircraft in a number of maritime roles until it ceased to exist as an independent element of the armed forces in 1952. A few years later, its assets were incorporated into the organisation of the Portuguese Air Force. In the 1980s, the Portuguese Navy investigated the possibility of re-establishing some form of naval aviation arm, with the aim of extending the operational reach of its frigates by equipping these vessels with helicopters. As a result of this study, the defence ministry ordered five Lynx Mk95s from Westland. Just prior to this deal, the company had introduced the Lynx HMA8 variant for service with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. A number of existing Lynx HAS3 airframes were modified as such, the most prominent visual change being the relocation of the on-board radar antenna to a position under the nose. This structural change enabled the addition of a forward-looking infra-red (FLIR) sensor on top of the nose. With the new HMA8 as reference, Westland began to market this variant for export as the Super Lynx. The Republic of Korea became the first export customer in 1988, and Portugal followed suit a year later, albeit without the option for the FLIR. Other customers followed, including the German Navy, which obtained new aircraft as well as modifying its existing fleet.