Leonardo AW101 SAR Queen

The AgustaWestland (now Leonardo, previously EH Industries) Merlin is a relatively large medium-lift helicopter with three engines originally developed as a joint venture between the UK and Italy. First flying in 1987 the Merlin eventually entered service in 1999 and are built at Yeovil in Somerset and Vergiate in Italy. The Merlin has been developed for a variety of roles ranging from anti-submarine warfare, to airborne early warning, to search and rescue, police patrols or combat evacuation. The Merlin was chosen as the replacement of the H-3 as the US Presidential helicopter nicknamed ‘Marine One’ however the order for the Merlin, known as the VH-71 Kestrel was cancelled by President Obama in 2009, the completed Kestrels were sold to Canada for spare parts.

Norway currently operates a fleet of 15 AW101 Merlins which is calls the SAR Queen with a further example on order to replace one that has been lost in an accident. All of their Merlins are flown by 330 Squadron in the Search and Rescue role and are forward deployed to six airfields around Norway. The aircraft are not owned by the Royal Norwegian Air Force but are operated by them on behalf of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security.

As part of their support of our 75th anniversary of NATO theme, the Royal Norwegian Air Force are providing one of their AW101 SAR Queens for static display at this year’s Air Tattoo. This is the first time one of these brightly coloured helicopters has appeared at RIAT.

Photo Credit: Luftforsvaret