Helicopter Industry #103

HELICOPTER INDUSTRY I FAREWELL I
AN EFFICIENT BUT AGING MACHINE
With four machines still in flight, the 34F flotilla carried out
the Lynx’s latest mission last July, during an operational
mission in support of the strategic oceanic force for SNLE’s
nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. Despite
its intrinsic qualities and the possibility of an upgrade,
the withdrawal of the Lynx has become a necessity in
recent years, as François Chaput points out: «The age of
the aircraft no longer allows it to be maintained in sufficient
operational conditions. The maintenance of the Lynx has
proved increasingly difficult, often forcing mechanics to carry
out retro engineering.» The Navy will thus have kept up, until
the end, the maintenance capacities of the aircraft at the the
operational level, within the flotilla in Lanvéoc, and at the
aeronautics industrial workshop (AIA) in Cuers-Pierrefeu. At
the same time, the aircraft will have benefited throughout
its working life from industrial monitoring by Leonardo, a
company created in 2000 from the merger between Italy’s
Agusta and Britain’s Westland. However, its operating costs
will impede on further modernisation. According to a report
submitted to a Member of Parliament last July, the aircraft’s
flight hours have gone from 14,000 to 22,000 euros in four
years for an annual maintenance cost of 17.7 million euros.
And, for an availability rate of less than 16%! This was just
enough to decide on the withdrawal of the beast, not without
regrets according to its crews, who, at the closure of the 34F,
will be reassigned to different units.
A NEW ERA
If the withdrawal of the Lynx marks the end of an era, it is
also synonymous with renewal for the French Navy. The
ASM mission has already been taken over by the NH90
Cayman Marine for several years, notably within the 33F and
31F on board multi-mission frigates (FREMM). The Cayman
Marine, which entered service with the «Royale» in 2011,
thus takes over the entire range of missions carried out by
the Lynx. And, according to some authorities, it is sometimes
not without difficulty, when faced with a last-generation
machine, where it is difficult to maintain operational.
Despite a few uncertainties, the NH90 is in fact becoming
the spearhead of the on-board helicopter component. The
Navy has also opted for another Airbus Helicopter, the H160,
and the withdrawal of the Lynx has made it possible to
ratify the project to upgrade the helicopter component by
implementing an interim fleet consisting of H160s and N3
Dolphins. According to François Chaput, « this project has
a promising future and the Lynx’s retirement will also make it
possible to invest in it on a long-term basis. »
If the time of the feline’s retirement has indeed sounded, its
second life within the national museums, in order to preserve
this flying heritage, still remains to be defined. As CF Chaput
underlines, « calls for the delivery of some of the cells to the
historical museum of the helicopter, in Dax, to the museum of
the association of the friends of naval aeronautics in Rochefort
and, why not, to the Museum of the air and space installed on
the airport of Paris - Le Bourget. »
HI I 20