Managed by QinetiQ on the industry side, the trials involved more than 30 people and achieved a key MOD milestone. While luck always plays a part, the dice were loaded in our favour because of the enormous effort made by all contributors.” John Cunningham, the head of Weapons Evaluation and Capability Assurance (WECA) and senior responsible owner for the Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon (FASGW) programme said, “The delivery of this trial has been an outstanding success.
To say these trials exceeded our collective expectations would be an understatement.” Various approach and departure paths from the ship were explored and tested in challenging winds, weather and deck motions – the kind of conditions that could affect how a Wildcat behaves while deployed as part of a Carrier Strike Group (CSG).ĭE&S Wildcat Delivery Team leader Steve Jose said, “The conduct of a SHOL trial gathers the necessary safety information and operating limitations to inform how an aircraft can be operated at sea. Loading up one side of the helicopter leaves the other flank free to enable operation of the heavy calibre machine-gun or winch for transferring personnel or rescuing personnel, thereby enabling operational flexibility
Operating from RFA Argus in the Atlantic and Mediterranean over a month, a specially instrumented Wildcat HMA was flown on 19 days for a total of 87 hours and conducted 894 deck take-offs and landings, by day and night.Ī total of seven weapons configurations were successfully tested including missiles under both “weapon wings”, and one at a time, to see how the Wildcat would handle for Navy aircrew.
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