Lynx Mk8

The Lynx is the backbone of the Fleet Air Arm and front-line operations by the frigate and destroyer fleets, operating over the ice of Antarctica and the sands of the Gulf, the expanse of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, the confines of the Strait of Gibraltar or English Channel. Based at RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset, the Lynx has been in service with the Royal Navy since the 1970s, proving its potency from the Falklands, through two Gulf wars, to the present day when it has become a scourge of pirates. The Lynx truly is a jack of all trades, capable of taking on enemy ships (with Sea Skua missiles), enemy submarines (with Sting Ray torpedoes or depth charges), and smaller surface targets courtesy of machine-gun pods or sniper rifles. It can carry a Royal Marines boarding team, who abseil rapidly down ropes on to ships below, and regularly conducts surveillance and reconnaissance missions using its dazzling array of sensors, cameras and recording equipment. The helicopter operates from all Type 42 destroyers and Type 22 frigates, plus the ice patrol ship HMS Endurance. It also flies from some Type 23 frigates (when they’re not operating Merlins) and Type 45 destroyers and occasionally deploys with the Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers. The Mk8 Saturn is the latest – and final variant of the Lynx – before its successor, Wildcat, enters service mid-decade.