16 Sea King
HAR.3 were ordered in 1975 and introduced from 1978 to replace the
Wessex HAR.2 as part of modernisation of the UK SAR commitment. 19 were eventually delivered. Improvements were subsequently sought and 6 Sea King
HAR.3A (which retain the venerable ARI 5995/2 search radar) were delivered from 1995. They include an auto hover digital flight control system, combined with a glass cockpit. The HAR.3A was introduced into service in 1996 and replaced the last Wessex HAR.2 in Jun 1997. The handling characteristics of the HAR.3A are significantly different from the HAR.3 and only the winch operator can move between types without conversion.