Reliable, Compact, Heavy-Hitting ASW Protection

Description

The MH-3A Fulmar began development soon after the Saltee-Brazilian War, in which Saltwater helicopters had dominated Brazilian submarine forces, but had been constrained by their poor payload for munitions. The government ordered the development of a lighter, yet more powerful, multirole helicopter to replace the aging SH-2G Seasprite onboard SWN warships.

The new helicopter was designed with a conservative conventional configuration, with surface-search radar positioned under the nose to locate enemy warships and a dipping sonar in the aft fuselage to locate submarines. Up to four torpedoes can be mounted on stub-wings that can be fitted to the fuselage. A 30mm gunpod was considered but rejected for use against fast attack craft.

The MH-3A Fulmar is usually crewed by three personnel, with two pilots and a sensor operator. The aircraft is also able to carry up to four marines for heliborne assault taskings. A limited number were built as AEW aircraft, with a retractable airborne radar fitted in place of the stub-wings, giving smaller surface units that lack fixed-wing carrier support the ability to maintain an aerial early warning capability.

The aircraft first saw active duty operating with the fleet off Italy during the Italian War of Aggression, providing early warning to advancing surface action groups and spotting enemy aircraft for engagement by long-range surface-surface-to-air missiles. No aircraft were lost to enemy fire during the war.

Flying at a maximum speed of 190mph and reaching altitudes of 22,000 feet, the Fulmar has a range of 850km. The aircraft is equipped with two stub-wings carrying up to four torpedoes and missiles. The aircraft is also fitted with a variety of onboard sensors capable of targeting submerged, surfaced or airborne threats. With its small footprint, the Fulmar can be accommodated by warships down to corvette size, although is more routinely embarked as part of a surface action or carrier strike group.

One-hundred-and-ninety-two (192) aircraft are in service as ASW helicopters with the Saltwater Navy, and a further thirty-two serve as AEW aircraft. Each helicopter has an export price of $10 million per unit.

To download the AEW variant, click here!

Controls

AG1 activates navigation lights.
AG2 enables ground-taxi mode.
AG3 enables radar rotation on the AEW variant.
AG4 does nothing.
AG5 does nothing.
AG6 does nothing.
AG7 does nothing.
AG8 enables the stabilising gyro.
Throttle+VTOL controls altitude.
TRIM UP lowers the dipping sonar.
TRIM DOWN rotates the radar array on the AEW variant.

Gallery

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Credit must go to natemomog for the original build..