Carrier air groups need rotary-wing aircraft as well as strike jets. Merlin is presented as the stronger anti-submarine platform, while Lynx is a fast general-purpose helicopter that can be loaded quickly with torpedoes or depth charges. A Lynx can rush to prosecute a contact after a Merlin has used its own weapons while continuing to hold the submarine. Britain once maintained nuclear depth charges, although the stockpile is believed to be gone and the weapons are described as having offered little practical value. Detection, contact maintenance, and rapid prosecution are not always best done by the same aircraft.
Notable Point · 55:43-57:13
Helicopters keep ASW inside the carrier group
A Royal Navy example explains how Merlin and Lynx helicopters divide anti-submarine work between sensors, weapons, speed, and general-purpose utility.