The Lynx went into operational usage in 1977 and was later adopted by the armed forces of over a dozen nations, primarily serving in the battlefield utility, anti-armour, search and rescue and anti-submarine warfare roles.

[7] As part of the Anglo-French helicopter agreement signed in February 1967, French company Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) had a 30 per cent share of production work, Westland performing the remainder.

[19] Out of these talks, the Arab British Helicopter Company (ABHCO) was established during the 1970s; this new organisation was accompanied by an initial arrangement to manufacture under licence the Lynx AH.1 in Helwan, Egypt.

[20][21] Announced in 1984, the Lynx-3 was an enhanced development, featuring a stretched fuselage, a redesigned tail boom, Gem 60-3/1 engines, a wheeled tricycle undercarriage, BERP rotor blades, and increased fuel capacity.

The cabin, located behind the cockpit, is accessed through a pair of large sliding doors on each side of the fuselage; it can accommodate up to ten equipped troops, depending upon seating configuration.

[40] In order to counteract battlefield threats such as infrared-guided missiles, various defensive aid subsystems can be optionally installed, including warning receivers and countermeasures.

During the Cold War, it was envisioned that Army Lynxes would be paired with Westland Gazelle helicopters to counter Soviet armoured vehicles.

[50] Lynx HAS.3 and HMA.8 variants operate as anti-submarine warfare and maritime attack helicopters armed with Sting Ray torpedoes, Sea Skua anti-ship missiles and depth charges, from Royal Navy warships.

A combination of Lynx and Westland Sea King helicopters were used to maintain continuous anti-submarine patrols in order to protect the British task force offshore from the Falkland Islands.

On 3 May, a Lynx conducted the first combat-firing of a Sea Skua missile, firing on the Argentinian patrol boat ARA Alférez Sobral, inflicting considerable damage to the vessel.

[54] On 14 May 1989, in the type's second fatal accident, Lynx HAS3GM XZ244, attached to HMS Brilliant, crashed near Mombasa, Kenya, while en route to the city's airport for a period of shore leave.

A door had detached when opened inflight and collided with the tail rotor, resulting in the aircraft splitting in half and the death of all nine personnel on board.

[56] By 2 February 1991, 25 Sea Skuas had been launched, out of these, 18 were confirmed as having hit their targets, and had succeeding in heavily damaging a significant portion of Iraq's navy.

[59] The British Army also deployed 24 TOW-armed Lynxes alongside an equal number of Westland Gazelle helicopters during the Gulf War.

They were assigned the mission of locating and attacking Iraqi tank concentrations, and to support the advance of coalition ground forces into Kuwait and Southern Iraq during the 100 hours war phase of the conflict.

[64] In June 1999, the type was employed to escort British ground forces being air-deployed into Kosovo via Chinooks, during NATO's first phase of deployment.

[65] For a number of years, British Army Lynx and Gazelle helicopters were deployed within Kosovo, performing reconnaissance and transport duties in support of NATO peacekeeping forces.

Participating aircraft were quickly outfitted with engine sand filters, armour, heat dissipaters, modern secure radios and radar warning receivers.

[69][70] In theatre, they would escort infantry patrols, perform aerial reconnaissance, provide fire support and act as airborne communications hubs.

[75] In 2006, the first Lynx AH.7 was deployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan; this variant would only be subsequently used during winter months due to the performance limitations imposed during the high summer temperatures.

On 17 March, a final flypast was conducted by four Royal Navy Westland Lynx HMA8 helicopters from 815 Naval Air Squadron, based at RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset.

[82][83] In 1996, the German Navy elected to purchase seven additional Super Lynx Mk88As; in 1998, the decision was taken to upgrade the existing Mk88 fleet, by then numbering a total of 17, to the improved Mk88A standard.

[85] In 2009, Germany was studying a limited upgrade programme for their Super Lynx fleet which reportedly included the replacement of the current anti-ship missile.

[83] Since 2012, German Lynx have been deployed routinely off the coast of Somalia to discourage and intervene against acts of piracy as a part of the multinational Operation Atalanta.

[90][91] In 2013, South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration announced its selection of the AW159 Wildcat; deliveries of eight aircraft are planned for 2015–16; these will be used for search and rescue, anti-submarine warfare and surveillance missions.

[98] In February 2011, a French Lynx landed on the flight deck of a FREMM multipurpose frigate for the first time as a part of qualifying trials.

[100] In 2019, the French Navy announced plans to retire the Lynx by 2020, and the type carried out its final operational deployment, aboard the frigate Latouche-Tréville, in July 2020.

[110] In 2014, a mid-life upgrade process was agreed for Brazil's Lynx fleet, they shall receive LHTEC CTS800-4N engines, new avionics, satellite navigation systems, countermeasures, and night vision-compatible cockpit displays.

In 2010, one Lynx reached the end of its operational life and was withdrawn from service; a second aircraft suffered a non-fatal crash in 1988 and was totally rebuilt by Westland.

[citation needed] Notes: AH=Army Helicopter, HAS=Helicopter, Anti-Submarine, HMA=Helicopter, Maritime Attack, IFF=Identification Friend or Foe, (GM)=Gulf Modification, (S)=Secure speech radio, and SIFF=Successor to IFF.