Russian tanker fires warning shots at German navy helicopter
The German Minister of Foreign Affairs, Annalena Baerbock, reported the incident. Information on this matter—without revealing the circumstances or the date of the event—was presented during a NATO meeting in Brussels.
2:41 PM EST, December 4, 2024
Shots, using signal ammunition, were fired from a Russian tanker toward a Super Lynx Mk88a helicopter conducting a patrol flight over the Baltic Sea. This type of aircraft is used by the German Navy 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 43 feet long and, in its takeoff configuration, can weigh up to 11,900 pounds. 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 characterized by excellent maneuverability and is capable of performing some aerobatic maneuvers. It can execute a barrel roll (a roll around the horizontal axis of the machine) and a loop. Despite its age, the helicopter also holds a speed record; in 1986, some British Lynxes exceeded a horizontal flight speed of 250 mph.
Super Lynx multi-role helicopter
The version of the helicopter used by the German Navy is a development variant, the Super Lynx. Machines in this version have been equipped with special BERP (British Experimental Rotor Program) rotors, addressing the problem that occurs when the rotor tips, moving faster than the inner parts, approach 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 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, to 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.
