YEOVILTON LIFE: Big week for Wildcat

A CEREMONY has taken place for the decommissioning of a naval air squadron following five years of hard work, diligence and dedication at the Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton.

Last week saw all seven Wildcat helicopters from 700(W) Naval Air Squadron fly into the sky simultaneously for the first time and the decommissioning on Wednesday (July 30, 2014) marked a significant change in the Lynx Wildcat Maritime Force.

The decommissioning of 700W will today (Friday, August 1, 2014) see the aircraft and their crew join the larger 825 NAS “family” with the mission of training both aircrew and engineers as well as standing up the first deployable Wildcat flights as the Lynx Mk 8 begins its drawdown over the next few years.

PHOTO - RIGHT: Commander Simon Collins.

Commander Simon Collins has been the Commanding Officer of 700W for this last year and departed from the squadron as it decommissioned on Wednesday.

Cdr Collins said: “The decommissioning of 700(W) NAS marks the culmination of just over five years hard work and dedication; having started out as only four people strong we now find ourselves with a complement of over 100 people and with seven aircraft on the squadron.

“Taking Wildcat from an idea to one that has embarked in Royal Navy warships three times for various trials, taken part in a huge multinational exercise and is now ready to send its first flight to sea for Operational Sea Training is a great achievement and one that we should all be proud of.”

Cdr Collins added “The previous two Commanding Officers, Lt Cdr Rob Dowdell and Lt Cdr Rob Taylor, also take equal credit for this.

“As we look to the future and the Squadron becoming 825 NAS on August 1, 2014, I am sure that Wildcat will continue to deliver and will be an asset to the Royal Navy and Defence.”

There will be a “transition” from Lynx to Wildcat until 2017 with all Force elements establishing at one location at RNAS Yeovilton in 2016.

The Wildcat HMA Mk 2 will offer a lightweight, versatile helicopter capable of operating in all weathers delivering exceptional military capability in support of maritime, littoral and land manoeuvre, force protection and maritime strike.

PHOTOS - ABOVE: The decommissioning ceremony of 700(W) Naval Air Squadron at RNAS Yeovilton on Wednesday, July 30, 2014.

Tags:
News.