NATO tensions: Russian tanker fires at German navy helicopter
The incident was reported by the German Minister of Foreign Affairs, Annalena Baerbock. Information on this matter – without revealing the circumstances or the date of the event – was presented during a NATO meeting in Brussels.
Shots—using signal ammunition—were fired from a Russian tanker towards a Super Lynx Mk88a helicopter conducting a patrol flight over the Baltic Sea. The German Navy uses this type of aircraft as a shipboard helicopter. The statement does not specify whether the Russians used flares or more dangerous tracer ammunition.
The Lynx helicopters serving in the German Navy are a variant of the British design first flown in 1971. The helicopter was developed as a British alternative to the American multi-role helicopter UH-1 Iroquois.
The twin-engine machine is approximately 13 metres long and, in its takeoff configuration, can weigh up to 5,400 kilograms. The helicopter can carry two anti-submarine torpedoes, two Sea Skua anti-ship missiles, as well as various other weapons, such as guided anti-tank missiles or firearms.
The Lynx is characterised by excellent manoeuvrability and is capable of performing some aerobatic manoeuvres – it can execute a barrel roll (a roll around the horizontal axis of the machine) and a loop-the-loop. Despite its age, the helicopter also holds a speed record – in 1986, some British Lynxes exceeded a horizontal flight speed of 400 km/h.
Super Lynx multi-role helicopter
The version of the helicopter used by the German Navy is its development variant, the Super Lynx. Machines in this version have been equipped with special BERP (British Experimental Rotor Programme) rotors – a response to the problem that occurs when the rotor tips, moving at a higher speed than its inner parts, reach a speed close to the speed of sound.
Machines in the maritime version are also equipped with radar and an electro-optical head, and can also be armed with anti-ship or anti-tank missiles, such as TOW or Hellfire.
Lynx helicopters can undertake a wide range of missions – from combating surface and underwater vessels, through supply, search and rescue missions, to strike, evacuation, or transport tasks. According to the manufacturer, installing the appropriate equipment to adapt the helicopter for specific tasks takes no more than 40 minutes.
The Lynx helicopter already has its successor – the AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat. For the German Navy, the Lynx's successor is the NH90 NFH helicopter.
