ROTARY UTILITY
A variety of helicopter types took part in the flypast for the official naming ceremony of HMS Prince of Wales at Rosyth Dockyard, Scotland, including Merlins, a Wildcat, a Sea King, and a Chinook.
HMS Prince of Wales and her sister ship, HMS Queen Elizabeth, will not only carry the F-35B Lightning jet, they will also be home to helicopters from all three armed services as well as rotary assets from partner nations. Richard Scott reports.
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hile the raison d’être for the Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) is Carrier Strike – the delivery of offensive air power from the sea – it was recognised from the outset of the programme that rotary-wing aircraft would have a vital force protection role to play as part of the carrier air wing. Furthermore, the broader concept of Carrier Enabled Power Projection (CEPP) promotes the flight deck and aviation support facilities available on HM Ships Prince of Wales and Queen Elizabeth as an operating base for rotorcraft from all three services and, indeed, allies. This intent was reaffirmed in the Joint Force 2025 vision set out in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR). The responsibility for delivering underwater and above-surface force protection to the Carrier Strike Group is shouldered by the Royal Navy’s Merlin Helicopter Force, based at RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall. That force today comprises 30 Merlin HM Mk.2 aircraft, of which 25 are maintained in the forward fleet. Merlin is a true multi-mission helicopter, but it is the aircraft’s anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capability that sets it apart. The upgrade to HM Mk.2 standard has included a package of sonics upgrades. From 2019, the Merlin force will add airborne surveillance and control (ASaC) to its repertoire. This capability, replacing that delivered by the venerable Sea King ASaC Mk. 7 until its
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HMS Prince of Wales
retirement on Sept. 26, 2018, is being enabled through the introduction of the CROWSNEST radar and mission system role fit. Lockheed Martin UK was awarded a £269 million contract to deliver the CROWSNEST programme in late 2016. The company is working in partnership with Thales (supplying a development of its Cerberus mission system and Searchwater radar) and Leonardo Helicopters (responsible for the production of 10 CROWSNEST role fit kits, and fixed fittings for all 30 Merlin helicopters). On March 28, 2019, the first Merlin HM Mk.2, fitted with the CROWSNEST system completed its first flight, and the new kit is on track to achieve initial operational capability in 2020. In advance of the arrival of HMS Queen Elizabeth in the fleet, the Merlin force was re-purposed and re-brigaded to focus on carrier air group (CAG) operations in support of Carrier Strike Group operations. Current planning assumptions assume a CAG including 14 Merlins, typically a mix of nine for ASW plus five CROWSNEST-configured aircraft for the ASaC mission. Exercise ‘Deep Blue’ in 2014 signalled the start of the process of building up the Merlin force to once again undertake high-tempo Task Group ASW operations. A total of nine aircraft were embarked on board HMS Illustrious for ‘Deep Blue’, with one more operating from the Type 23 frigate HMS Westminster. A follow-on ‘Deep Blue’ exercise was
