Missile armed Royal Navy Wildcat conclude trials

According to UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), the Royal Navy succesfully concluded trials with a Leonardo AW159 Wildcat HMA2 carrying up twenty missiles.

The month-long test trials saw the Wildcat carrying the Royal Navy's two new air-to-surface anti-ship missiles, Martlet and Sea Venom, in various configurations.

The Royal Navy claims that the Wildcat, apart from its original role in Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), landing Special Forces and delivering troops, now has the ability to take missiles over the horizon.

The 815 Naval Air Squadron (815NAS) Wildcat HMA2, serial ZZ415 (construction number 485), operated from the aviation training ship RFA Argus (A135) for a month in the Atlantic and practised take off and landing more than 900 times with different conditions and payloads.

Photo via UK MoD