The last flight of Sea King Mk2 AEW (Airborne Early Warning) helicopters has left HMS Ark Royal.

There was sadness as the helicopters of 849 Naval Air Squadron B Flight lifted off the flight deck to return to their home at Culdrose in Cornwall after Exercise Dynamic Mix, because this was the final embarked trip for that particular version of the aircraft.

The time has come for the Mk2s to move over for the latest version, the Mk7 Airborne Surveillance and Control (ASaC) Sea King, reckoned to be a step-change in operational capability from its predecessor.

The motto of 849 Squadron is “The first to see”, and for most of the 50 years of AEW, the squadron has provided the eyes of the Fleet and will continue to do so.

849 A Flight and HQ are in the process of converting to the new Mk7s, which come equipped with state-of-the-art equipment including the new strong-performance Searchwater 2000 radar, which consists of a high-powered, multi-mode, pulse Doppler radar integrated with IFF and Link 16 data/communication facilities.

A comprehensive training programme in the use of this cutting-edge technology is under way, and 849 A Flight is expected to embark with the first three aircraft in the autumn.

B Flight and 849 HQ will be equipped with three aircraft each by mid-2003.

The Mk2 AEW Sea King helicopter has had a long and illustrious history with the Royal Navy.

The problems encountered by ships of the Task Force in the Falklands in 1982, attacked by fast-moving low-flying jets and missiles, which resulted in the loss of ships such as HMS Sheffield, highlighted the need for an airborne early warning system.

The Navy acted quickly, and two Anti-Submarine Warfare Sea Kings were stripped of their sonar and rapidly converted to carry a modified Searchwater radar, embarked on the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious and sailed down to the South Atlantic.

“The Bag” was born – these adapted AEW Sea Kings were part of 824 Squadron’s hastily-formed D Flight. This Flight later reformed as 849 Squadron in Culdrose in November 1984.

The first Fleet Air Arm squadron dedicated to AEW, 849 Squadron was originally commissioned in 1952, and for almost 30 years the squadron flew a variety of fixed-wing aircraft from carriers.

With the demise of larger conventional carriers, the squadron came out of commission on December 15, 1978, until the Falklands War brought AEW to the fore again.

Almost 400 past and present members of the squadron gathered in Culdrose for celebrations to mark 50 years of airborne early warning in the Fleet in May.