The initial design, then known as the Westland WG.13, was started in the mid-1960s as a replacement for the Westland Scout and Wasp, and a more advanced alternative to the UH-1 Iroquois.
Prvotni dizajn helikoptera (poznat kao Westland WG.13) je stvoren sredinom 1960-ih kao zamjena za Westlandove modele Scout i Wasp te kao naprednija alternativa za UH-1 Iroquois.