The Netherlands' Defence Helicopter Command has conducted its last operational flight with a Westland Lynx, bringing to an end a service history spanning 36 years. The milestone sortie was performed at its Naval Air Station De Kooy base on 11 September.
 |
|
Joris van Boven |
A total of 24 Lynx were acquired for the Dutch navy for search and rescue, anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare tasks, with the fleet having been modified to a common SH-14D standard in 1993.
The retired type's duties will be met using a mix of military Agusta-Bell AB412s, Eurocopter AS532 Cougars and civilian SAR helicopters until NH Industries' replacement NH90 becomes fully operational in 2015.
Separately, the Royal Netherlands Air Force has also retired its last two Fokker 50 transports.