Leonardo AW101 Merlin (EH101)

Leonardo AW101 Merlin (EH101) History

The AgustaWestland AW101 "Merlin" (formerly EH Industries EH101 Merlin) is a medium utility helicopter developed as a joint British and Italian joint venture. Since development began in the 1980s, sales have continued to increase and the range on the battlefield has expanded significantly.

The AW101 is a large helicopter system powered by no less than three turboshaft engines with an airframe capable of supporting a wide range of military and civilian needs, including general personnel transport, maritime defense, anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and airborne early warning (AEW) ), Search and Rescue (SAR), Amphibious Support, Disaster Relief and Medical Evacuation. To date, more than 140 examples of this type have been produced.

In the late 1970s, the world was still in the midst of a "Cold War" arms race. Another war on the European battlefield remains a very real possibility, and if the Cold War gets "hot," there is no doubt that a large number of military weapons will come into play. The key to NATO's success in the region is control of the surrounding waters, so carrier-based rotorcraft systems will prove to be of great value.

The British and Italian navies are looking for a more modern anti-ship/anti-submarine option to replace their aging U.S. Sikorsky H-3 Sea King platforms (built locally by Westland and Agusta in their respective countries). While the Brits are already working on developing the proposed Westland WG.

34 No prototypes were built prior to a joint development programme between Westland and Agusta to produce a joint end product as a cost-effective solution. To complement this agreement, EH Industries (Eurocopter Industries) was established in London in 1980 as a 50/50 partnership.

Each participating nation could then receive the same helicopter product at cost, with only slightly different final deliveries to meet their respective naval needs.

The global operational usage of the Merlin series has increased since the launch of the genre and now includes Algeria, Canada, Denmark, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Portugal and the United Kingdom. The Algerian Navy is expected to receive the variant soon. The Canadian model is named CH-149 (AW320) Cormorant. The Royal Danish Air Force operates Merlins with its 722 Squadron, while India has ordered AW101s as VIP transports within the IAF.

Likewise, the Indonesian Air Force has ordered more than a dozen airframes. The Italian Navy stored their 1st and 3rd Flying Groups on Merlins. Japan uses the AW101 in both military and civilian (law enforcement) roles. Portugal established a Merlins squadron called Squadron 751 Puma. The Royal Navy began using Merlin through its 700M Naval Air Squadron flight team, which evaluated the platform from 2000 to 2008.

Since then, Merlin has served in the 814th, 820th, 824th and 829th Naval Air Squadrons. The RAF is the other operator of the helicopter, which houses the 28th and 78th Squadrons from RAF Benson.

All UK, Portuguese and Danish helicopters are known by the "Merlin" name, and the UK remains the largest quantitative operator of this type.

There are several listed names in the

Merlin family, most of which refer to their particular roles in their respective armed forces, rather than drastic changes in design or scope of operations. Production of the helicopter has been ongoing since the 1990s, and notable variants include the Royal Navy Merlin HM1, HM2, HC3 and HC3A.

Two VH-71 Kestrels are being considered as VIP transport mounts for the President of the United States, with Lockheed Martin as the prime contractor. The CH-148 Petrel was a Canadian military platform originally planned to be ordered, but was later withdrawn from procurement and renamed the CH-149 Cormorant.

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