Clare has provided secretarial and administrative support to the Merlin Delivery Programmes, from the days of IBM Federal Systems through Loral to Lockheed Martin. 

 "As a recent college-leaver, joining such a professional and skilled team was a very exciting and proud experience for me.  The opportunities of seeing Merlin ‘in the flesh’ have always been a great pleasure…  office landings, fly-bys, at air shows, in the hangars (Yeovil/Boscombe Down/on-board), or simply on holiday when Dad would look up and ask, “is that one of yours?”.  Dare I say it, the Merlin experience has been magical!“

"I have been proud the be part of the Merlin Team for so many years. There have been plenty of challenges to overcome, but the variety of work, being part of a great team and opportunity to contribute to such a capable helicopter platform all make it extremely worthwhile."

Ben started as an Industrial Trainee in the Safety team with IBM Federal Systems in 1993, completing second and third placements with Loral in 1994 & 1995 before joining Lockheed Martin full time 1996 as part of the Air Vehicle Engineering team. When asked about his memories of his time working on the Merlin Mk1 project, he said ”I remember frequent trips to Yeovil, long hours testing on the rigs, and reviews with Agusta in Cascina Costa, but again being part of a great team and contributing to a world class capability. The significant milestones like CDR and AUTEC Trials stick with me, I think the team as a whole were great at celebrating those successes and everything they meant to the programme."

Between 1998 and 2001, Phil Shaw was the first Commanding Officer of the 700M Intensive Flying Trials Unit, responsible for the introduction into Royal Naval service of the helicopter and then he served as Commander Merlin and first Commanding Officer of 824 Naval Air Squadron which provided training for conversions and ab initio crews.

When asked about his memories of introducing Merlin Mk1 into service, he said “You know I look back on those days as a highlight of my career in the Royal Navy. We were all so privileged to be at the forefront of introducing cutting edge technology into the fleet air arm, and while it didn’t come without its frustrations which is common when introducing any new equipment, the Merlin was a giant leap forward in capability. I was struck by the safety of the aircraft that three engines brings, the smooth ride which reduces crew fatigue and the level of automation and integration which substantially reduced crew workload … young aircrew today would probably look at us and chuckle when they saw us on older aircraft navigating or searching for ships and submarines by wielding wax pencils and plastic sheets liberally soaked in hydraulic or warm gearbox oil but Merlin represented a huge improvement over what we were all used to at the time. Also the advances that modern sensors and avionics such as Flash and data link provided meant that Merlin was a significant force multiplier for the Royal Navy across multiple environments. I felt personally very honoured to be working alongside the best of the best in the fleet air arm on the Merlin programme and it has been wonderful to see so many go on to bigger and better things from that experience. Merlin introduced me also to Lockheed Martin and I remember fondly the team that I worked with in Portsmouth and Owego as we worked together as a team to bring this great capability into being and it’s wonderful to see some of those people are still supporting the programme and that the relationship between MoD, Royal Navy and industry has endured for such a long time. It is a testament to the quality of people on both sides of the Atlantic that have been supporting this programme so well that Lockheed Martin is still in prime position. What a wonderful day to see Merlin reach the 30 year mark and here’s wishing the programme teams in MoD, Royal Navy and industry all the best of success for the next 30 years.” 

Strength, Power, Teamwork, Success and the ability of people of different nations to work together to produce Excellence.

When asked about his memories of his time working on the Merlin Mk.1 project he said “It was a privilege and an honour to lead two superb different MOD teams and forge successful relationships with Lockheed Martin and all the other companies and countries involved in the development of the world’s finest multi-role helicopter.”

"Merlin is in my blood – its hard not to be as a previous helicopter engineer and having spent the last 23 years working the programme from delivery of the initial Mk1s, to adding new capabilities such as Crowsnest and Multi-Statics. It has been and privilege and honour to be part of the Merlin team and family across so many areas, be it the Lockheed Martin teams, the Customer (DE&S and RN) as well as the multiple suppliers; (Leonardo, CAE, Thales, Ultra, Selex, L3 etc etc). Collectively we have delivered the foremost Multirole Maritime Helicopter to the Royal Navy. A huge achievement by so many over the years."

"During this time I have seen people grow, form lasting friendships, fall in love, and have families. This is so often over looked when the size of the programme is considered. I have so many lasting positive memories working Merlin, be they the people I have met and worked with, as well as the accomplishments achieved. My standout and lasting moments on the programme have been: Supporting the RN (700M) with operating the first deliveries of Merlin Mk1, seeing the first two Merlin Mk2s being delivered at RNAS Culdrose, delivering 11 Merlin Mk2s so they could all embark on HMS Illustrious (Exercise Deep Blue), and lastly seeing 5 Merlin ASW and 3 Merlin Mk 2s ASaC (Crowsnest embodied) arranged on the deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth departing for CSG21."