Westland WG-13 Lynx

The Westland WG-13 Lynx is a British multi-purpose military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led to the development of both battlefield and naval variants. The Lynx went into operational usage in 1977 and was later adopted by the armed forces of over a dozen nations, primarily serving in the battlefield utility, anti-armour, search and rescue and anti-submarine warfare roles.

The Lynx has the distinction of being the world's first fully aerobatic helicopter with the ability to perform loops and rolls. In 1986, a specially modified Lynx set the current Fédération Aéronautique Internationale's official airspeed record for helicopters at 400.87 km/h, which remains unbroken as of 2016.

In addition to a wide number of land and naval variants of the Lynx, several major derivatives have been produced. The Westland 30 was produced as a civil utility helicopter, it did not become a commercial success, only a small number were built during the 1980s. In the 21st century, a modernized variant of the Lynx was designed as a multirole combat helicopter, designated as the AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat; the Wildcat is intended to replace existing Lynx helicopters. The Lynx remains in production by AgustaWestland, the successor to Westland Helicopters.

Users

 * Algeria
 * Algerian Navy
 * Argentina
 * Argentine Navy
 * Brazil
 * Brazilian Navy
 * Denmark
 * Royal Danish Navy
 * Egypt
 * Egyptian Army
 * France
 * Marine Nationale
 * Germany
 * Bundesmarine
 * Republic of Korea
 * Republic of Korea Navy
 * Malaysia
 * Royal Malaysian Navy
 * Netherlands
 * Royal Netherlands Navy
 * Nigeria
 * Nigerian Navy
 * Norway
 * Royal Norwegian Air Force
 * Oman
 * Royal Air Force of Oman
 * Pakistan
 * Pakistan Navy
 * Portugal
 * Portuguese Navy
 * Qatar
 * Qatar Emiri Land Force
 * Saudi Arabia
 * Royal Saudi Army
 * South Africa
 * South African Air Force
 * Thailand
 * Royal Thai Navy
 * United Arab Emirates
 * United Arab Emirates Army
 * United Kingdom
 * British Army
 * Army Air Corps
 * Royal Navy
 * Fleet Air Arm

Related Development

 * AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat
 * Westland 30

Comparable Aircraft

 * Bell UH-1N Twin Huey
 * Kaman SH-2 Sea Sprite
 * Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk
 * Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk