As described in Mr. Austin's paper “The Concept of the WG-13”, the Lynx stems from a series of project studies for a small tactical twin-engined helicopter, begun as long ago as 1963.

In 1967, an agreement was reached between the French and British Governments to produce, jointly, three helicopter types as a package for service with the Armed Forces of both nations. The package consisted of the Puma (SA.330-14000 lb auw) the Gazelle (SA.341-3500 lb auw) and the Lynx (WG-13 basic aircraft-8000 lb auw).