Wildcat helicopter replacing Royal Navy's Westland Lynx passes first major test

The newest helicopter in the Royal Navy's arsenal came through its toughest test, spending a fortnight taking part in Europe's biggest naval war games.
Wildcat joined HMS Dragon on Exercise Joint Warrior. It is the first time the helicopter – normally based at RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset with 700W Naval Air Squadron – has spent such a concerted time at sea, and the first time it has taken part in the exercise aboard a ship.
From next year, Wildcat will start to replace the Lynx as the mainstay of aerial operations by the Royal Navy's Type 23 frigates and Type 45 destroyers.
Although it looks similar to its predecessor, Wildcat is a different aircraft, from the way it handles, to the equipment aboard – which is a generation ahead of that on the Lynx.
Later this year Wildcat will go through two months of intensive Operational Sea Training with a Type 23 frigate to prepare ship and helicopter for deployment.
Wildcat is due to be declared operational in early 2015 and is due to deploy for the first time with a Royal Navy warship on the North Atlantic patrol next May.
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