--- title: "Leonardo AW101 Merlin — OnlyPlanes" description: "The AW101 Merlin is a three-engine multirole helicopter used in British service for anti-submarine and transport missions." canonical_url: "https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/leonardo-aw101-merlin" locale: en meta: keywords: "aviation, aircraft, airlines, airports, flight" "og:description": "The AW101 Merlin is a three-engine multirole helicopter used in British service for anti-submarine and transport missions." "og:image": "https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/leonardo-aw101-merlin.webp" "og:title": "Leonardo AW101 Merlin — OnlyPlanes" --- > Index of every page on this site: [llms.txt](https://onlyplanes.ru/llms.txt) Military helicopters / AW101 # Leonardo AW101 Merlin The AW101 Merlin is a three-engine multirole helicopter used in British service for anti-submarine and transport missions. ![Leonardo AW101 Merlin aircraft photograph](https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/leonardo-aw101-merlin.webp) Development ## History The AW101 Merlin grew from a requirement for a large shipborne helicopter capable of long operations over the sea while carrying varied equipment. British and Italian teams developed the family, and several national versions followed. Merlin is the British service name for particular AW101 variants; it should not automatically be applied to every aircraft built to the design. Three turboshaft engines and a spacious cabin are distinctive features of the basic platform. For the Royal Navy, the Merlin Mk2 is principally an anti-submarine helicopter. Its crew must find a possible target, refine its location, and pass information to a naval formation. Specialized sensors and processing equipment support that work. The mission also involves prolonged flight over water, landing on a moving ship, and coordinating with other forces. Carrying weapons does not mean every sortie is an attack mission: observation and search can occupy much of the flight. The Royal Marines use a different version, the Merlin Mk4. It moves personnel, equipment, and supplies between ships and the shore. Equipment at the cabin door supports rapid deployment. The Mk4 is not merely a Mk2 with its seats rearranged: its role affects installed systems, the use of cabin space, and crew preparation. Any comparison of capacity or range needs to identify the precise variant. The platform supports additional duties. According to the Royal Navy, the Mk2 can undertake search and rescue or cargo transfer, and an externally mounted radar enables airborne surveillance and control. These options broaden its value to a naval group. Yet a stated capability belongs to an aircraft with the relevant equipment and trained personnel; it should not be assumed to be available on every helicopter at every time. AW101 aircraft also operate outside Britain. Customers selected their own communications, observation equipment, and cabin arrangements for maritime, rescue, or transport service. That international history demonstrates the value of a roomy multirole airframe without making every national version identical. A photograph of a foreign AW101 should not be presented as a British Merlin Mk2 without checking the markings and configuration. In military aviation history, the Merlin sits between smaller shipborne helicopters and heavier transport types. Its strengths lie in combining maritime suitability, endurance, and useful internal volume. A precise profile identifies the version and mission before giving performance figures. Speed and lifting capacity in practice vary with fuel, weather, load, and installed equipment, so a single universal number cannot describe the whole family. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#website","@type":"WebSite","description":"News, stories and rare images from the world of aviation","inLanguage":"en-GB","name":"OnlyPlanes","url":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en","publisher":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#identity"},"translationOfWork":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#website"}},{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/leonardo-aw101-merlin#webpage","@type":"WebPage","description":"The AW101 Merlin is a three-engine multirole helicopter used in British service for anti-submarine and transport missions.","name":"Leonardo AW101 Merlin | OnlyPlanes","url":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/leonardo-aw101-merlin","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#website"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/leonardo-aw101-merlin"]}],"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#logo"}},{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#identity","@type":"Organization","name":"OnlyPlanes","url":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en","logo":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#logo"},"sameAs":["https://t.me/legkoenebo"]},{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/leonardo-aw101-merlin#article","@type":"Article","description":"The AW101 Merlin is a three-engine multirole helicopter used in British service for anti-submarine and transport missions.","headline":"Leonardo AW101 Merlin","inLanguage":"en-GB","thumbnailUrl":"https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/leonardo-aw101-merlin.webp","author":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#identity"},"image":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#/schema/image/1"},"isPartOf":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/leonardo-aw101-merlin#webpage"},"mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/leonardo-aw101-merlin#webpage"},"publisher":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#identity"}},{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#logo","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"OnlyPlanes","contentUrl":"https://onlyplanes.ru/search-logo.png","inLanguage":"en-GB","url":"https://onlyplanes.ru/search-logo.png"},{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#/schema/image/1","@type":"ImageObject","contentUrl":"https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/leonardo-aw101-merlin.webp","inLanguage":"en-GB","url":"https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/leonardo-aw101-merlin.webp"}]} ``` ## Sitemap See the full [sitemap](https://onlyplanes.ru/sitemap.md) for all pages.