Rotary wings for Navies: developments in turbo-shaft engines, rotor technology and lightweight avionics and armament allowed the roles of shipborne helicopters to be expanded to include armed assault, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface vessel warfare, over-the-horizon targeting, mine laying/mine-countermeasures and airborne early warning.

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Rotary-wing

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Rotary wings for Navies: developments in turbo-shaft engines, rotor technology and lightweight avionics and armament allowed the roles of shipborne helicopters to be expanded to include armed assault, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface vessel warfare, over-the-horizon targeting, mine laying/mine-countermeasures and airborne early warning.

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Not always well perceived is the fact that operation of helicopters and tilt-rotor aircraft from naval vessels requires special airframe and engine features (particularly in terms of corrosion protection), and role-specific avionics and armament. Current developments are reviewed below in order of region of manufacture and increasing aircraft size

Western Europe

The lightweight end of the naval helicopter range is represented by the 2.6-tonne Eurocoper AS 555 Fennec, powered by two 388-kW Turbomeca Arrius 1A engines. The marinised AS 555SN can be fitted with the Telephonics RDR-1400R search radar and armed with a 244-kg Eurotorp A244/S torpedo.

Eurocopter's 4.3-tonne AS 565 Panther is powered by two 729-kW Turbomeca Arriel 2Cs. The AS 565MB navalised version exemplifies marinisation modifications, with blade-fold, anti...

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