The 'Fighting Clan' is ready for choppers
One of the most important trials was the Sea Acceptance Trial (AIR) which has recently taken place. This trial involved a Lynx helicopter landing on the ship’s flight deck in order to test the ship’s ability to guide an aircraft in, using high-tech equipment onboard, and perform a safe landing.
ET Adam Muncaster (20) from Whitehaven was heavily involved in the trial as part of the team onboard who work in the hangar. He said: “It was great to see all the hard work finally pay off when the helicopter landed. I can’t wait to see it happen in a real deployment environment in the future!”
A helicopter’s role in the Royal Navy is versatile and agile. It can be used for something as seemingly trivial as bringing in the mail or at the other end of the spectrum its presence is invaluable when it comes to performing rescues, or delivering manpower to otherwise unreachable locations; a common theme when it comes to performing disaster relief, one of the Royal Navy’s key roles much like HMS Bulwark is currently doing in the Mediterranean.
ET Chris Martin (23) from Skegness was tasked to document the landing of the helicopter with the ship’s camera. He said: “I was excited to have been offered the chance to be a part of the action when the helicopter landed. The hangar team allowed me to be close and get some really great footage of the trial for the ship.”
HMS Sutherland has recently been extremely busy with a variety of different trials in order to prove herself ready to enter back into the fleet after a busy refit period.
The ship has emerged from a gruelling maintenance period but is now deemed the most technologically advanced and up to date Type 23 Frigate in the Royal Navy, and the Ship’s Company has been working hard in order to complete a huge variety of sea trials so that HMS Sutherland can be ready to deploy across the globe once again.
The completion of the trial means that HMS Sutherland, affectionately known as the Fighting Clan, is now qualified and ready to receive aircraft onboard when required in the future. The hard work of all ship’s company involved in the preparation of the trial did not go unnoticed and undoubtedly secured the successful completion of the trial.
