The Westland Lynx is a British-made multipurpose helicopter of full metal construction with a fixed undercarriage, in a classic layout with a main rotor and a tail rotor on the beam. The drive is provided by two Rolls-Royce 42-1 turboshaft engines with a capacity of 1015 HP each. The first prototype flew in 1971, and serial production started in 1978 and is still ongoing. By 2009, approximately 450 helicopters of this type had been manufactured. The machine was also manufactured under license in France by Aerospatiale.
The Westland Lynx was created to replace the Westland Scout and Westland Wasp helicopters. When designing it, particular emphasis was placed on the high reliability of the entire machine, good performance, and efforts to maintain high susceptibility to modernization. These goals have been achieved. In the course of serial production, two main development versions of the helicopter were created: the first, designated as Lynx AH.1, was dedicated to the military aviation of the army and was used as a transport and anti-tank helicopter. There were also several versions of it, such as the Lynx AH.7 with a fuselage and rotor made to a greater extent from composites and with richer avionics. The second major version was designated as Lynx HAS.1 - it served as an anti-submarine helicopter (ZOP) and a search and rescue machine. This version has also undergone numerous modifications and has been revised several times, eg HAS.3. Westland Lynx helicopters successfully participated in many armed conflicts, including the Falklands War (1982) or in both wars with Iraq (1990-1991 and 2003). They were also exported to several countries, including Brazil, Denmark and Germany.
Operation Herrick is defined as the entirety of British military operations in Afghanistan in the period from 2002 to 2014. It was implemented as a British contribution to ISAF and as military aid for the American Enduring Freedom operation carried out since 2001. Since 2003, there has been a visible increase in the number of British forces involved, which should be associated with the growing tasks facing the British armed forces in Afghanistan. The operation was primarily aimed at carrying out broadly understood anti-terrorist activities, carrying out patrol tasks and supporting the Afghan government in the reconstruction of the country. It is worth adding that the majority of British activities were carried out in southern Afghanistan - in the Helmand province. It is assumed that 454 British soldiers were killed in the course of Operation Herrick.