25 ex
RAF Merlin HC.3 and
HC.3A airframes transferred to the Royal Navy to provide the Royal Marine Commando lift, during the retirement of the
Sea King HC.4/HC.6 fleet. The HC.3/HC.3A transfer from the RAF began on 30 Sep 2014 and completed on 9 Jul 2015. 846 Squadron first unit to operate from Sep 2014. 845 Squadron will be the second FAA unit to stand up.
The HC.3 on transfer were not optimised for maritime operations and temporary
marinisation work was undertaken to provide minimal capability (eg folding main rotors) under the Interim HC.3 (
iHC.3) programme - in advance of the full conversion to HC.4 standard across the fleet.
In 2022
Leonardo completed update of 25 helicopters under the Merlin Life Sustainment Programme (
MLSP)