FLUG REVUE October 2006: Sea Lynx for worldwide operations

October 2006

MARINEFLIEGER SEA LYNX IN ACTION

By Stefan Petersen

Chief Petty Officer Michel Diniz swivels the barrel of the M3M machine gun on the open port cabin door of the Sea Lynx Mk.88A downwards. “We don't want to frighten the crew of the cargo vessel, it's only a training flight,” Commander Jörg Modey, commander of the shipboard helicopter, had said to the 28 -year-old operator. 50 metres out to sea a Chinese container ship is moving through the Deutsche Bucht (German Bay) in the North Sea.

If this were the Gulf of Aden, the naval helicopter, equipped with the Belgian 12.5mm calibre weapon, would be taking part in the “Enduring Freedom” anti-terror operation and its job would be to examine the cargo on the vessel and possibly to protect a boarding team as they were set down by a second Sea Lynx. “Just having the weapon makes a difference,” says Modey, who is also squadron leader of the ship-based helicopter squadron – Squadron 3 of Naval Air Wing 3 “Graf Zeppelin” in Nordholz, near Cuxhaven. “Off the coast of Somalia, people's faces are a lot more friendly during such boarding operations after they have seen the machine gun.”

The role of the ship-based helicopter squadron has changed fundamentally since it first became operational 25 years ago, on 1 October 1981. “What was originally the primary role, anti-submarine warfare, has receded noticeably into the background in favour of anti-surface vessel warfare, reconnaissance and maritime patrol in the operational area,” says Modey. The 39-year-old now steers the Sea Lynx with tactical tail code 83+24 out over the lead-grey North Sea, and sets course for a point some 20 nautical miles to the south of Helgoland, where the frigate “Rheinland-Pfalz” is cruising. “On top of that, we have been permanently in action for four and a half years – as probably one of the most sustainable units in the Bundeswehr.”

The squadron is undermanned. “We have only about half as many aircrew as we should have.” Not only that, but there is a shortage of new pilot recruits. “We do get a lot of applicants, but very few of them are suitable,” explains the Commander, who has been in charge of the squadron since September 2005. “The Sea Lynx is quite a challenge, not just as regards piloting skills but the Tactical Coordinator – the Tacco – who sits in the left cockpit seat has to hold a mental picture of the entire situation in his head and react accordingly.”

As a result, the training is undergoing change. “In the past the pilots would complete their basic helicopter training before coming to Nordholz, where they were given conversion training on the Sea Lynx and also tactical training,” Modey continues. “That meant another 24 months of training.” Future helicopter pilots will now learn the full piloting skills in their basic training, but only get basic training for the demanding left seat position. After that, the young pilots will spend six to twelve months in the squadron before returning to the training squadron of NAW3 for the real tactical training. “This has the advantage that the young people will become familiar with their weapon system early on and gain some flying experience, but it also means that we won't be able to use them as Taccos right from the start.”

It will be interesting, Modey adds, to see whether the new arrangements bring any advantages “In the long-term we are aiming for a single-pilot concept, such as the Dutch and British practise, with a helicopter pilot in the right-hand seat and a pure Tacco on the left.” Lieutenant Commander Martin Klenke performs the Tacco role on 83+24. The 28-year-old can make out the telltale signs of the Rheinland-Pfalz on the radar screen in front of him, along with the blips of numerous other ships. The Sea Spray 3000 from Selex (Marconi) provides him with a complete picture of the tactical situation.

The Sea Lynx's present complex operational capability came with the replacement of the Mk.88 by the improved Mk.88A. Back in 1996 it was already clear that the introduction of the MH90 naval helicopter would be delayed, so seven new Sea Lynxes were ordered to supplement the fleet, which originally had comprised 19 helicopters. In April 2000 the first Mk.88A was delivered. At the same time the 15 remaining Mk.88's – four of them had been lost due to accidents – were upgraded to Mk.88A standard, so that today the squadron has 22 helicopters – with “enormously improved fighting quality”, as Modey puts it.

“The new radar not only has a greater range of 100 nautical miles (185km), but offers all-round visibility because of its position under the nose.” Relocating the radar in this way has created room on the upper side of the nose for a detachable infrared sensor head, which assists with the identification of ships and other objects in the water at night and under poor visibility. Armed with the British Sea Skua missile, the Mk.88A has a weapon that lends itself particularly well to the engagement of surface targets at a range of up to 15km. “Every two years we practise live firing with the Sea Skua in Wales – and we regularly have very good results.” The Mk.88A has also been equipped with a GPS, an improved rotor head, new composite rotor blades and a new, reinforced airframe.

Out of the cockpit window the grey hull of the Rheinland-Pfalz materialises out of the haze. Above the rear of the class 122 frigate, another Sea Lynx hovers. At its controls is a young pilot who is taking his deck landing qualification (DLQ) test. After three landings, the other helicopter moves to the side and 83+24 approaches in the hover. The Flight Deck Officer (FDO) raises his arms to guide the helicopter in. Modey sets the Sea Lynx down on the deck and the “harpoon” deck-lock securing system, a bar with a grabber arm on the underside of the air frame which secures the helicopter to the deck with a 4 tonne pulling power, is extended and hooks itself into the platform grid. At a sign from the FDO, five servicemen run up to the helicopter and secure it with additional straps.

In the half-closed hangar next to the landing platform one can make out two Sea Lynxes with folded rotor blades. They belong to the Rheinland-Pfalz's ship operations group. “When we embark on frigates, we normally take two helicopters and 17 men: two flight crews and 11 technicians,” Modey explains. The team, which is led by a helicopter operations officer, works largely independently of the ship's routine. “We have to follow the general flying duty rules with fixed rest breaks, whereas the rest of the crew work six-hour shifts.” When deployed, however, this has to be well-planned and does not bring any additional problems.

Just on account of this peculiarity, the helicopter people were regarded as eccentrics by the ship's crew and in the early days of naval aviation had initially been viewed more as a burden, as Captain Rainer Kümpel, wing commander of NAW3, recalls. The 48-year-old has been a Sea Lynx pilot since 1984, and from 1992 to 1995 he was squadron leader of the ship-based helicopter squadron. “The commanders and ship operations officers had to first learn how to use the enormous potential of the helicopter in ASW operations.” At the same time flexibility was also required on the part of the pilots in adapting to shipboard operations. “Today we have attained a point at which after 25 years both sides are able to work well with the shipboard helicopter system.

“Actually we would like to spend more time at sea, but we simply don't have the capacity,” says Modey regretfully. “Operation Enduring Freedom is the top priority, then after that comes participation in top-quality training for the ships expected to take part in the operation, the six-week long German operational sea training in Plymouth, and then the pain threshold is reached.” It is not unusual for the pilots to be away at sea for 150 to 180 days a year. “A lot of them feel they know the waters off Djibouti better than the German Bay because they fly there more frequently.”

On top of the shortage of flying personnel, at any given time four or five Sea Lynxes from the squadron will always be away at Eurocopter being fitted with an avionics upgrade. “We are getting a glass cockpit, a new area navigation system for instrument flight and secure voice communications,” says Modey. The new naval MU 90 torpedo is also to be integrated. “The first upgraded helicopter is expected back in Nordholz at the end of the year.”

83+24 will also return to Nordholz after taking off from the Rheinland-Pfalz. And for many years to come, Sea Lynx helicopters will be stationed there. “The MH90 is too big to fit on class 122 and 123 frigates, and we will probably keep them in service until at least 2020.” Naturally his squadron will help with the roll-out of the MH90. “After all, we have the experience,” says Commander Modey as he heads for the parking position, hovering above the taxiway. “But for the foreseeable future, the Sea Lynx will remain the workhorse of the Navy.”

From page 6 of FLUG REVUE 10/2006

Last updated 15 September 2006

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