After several twists and turns that seriously endangered its continuity, the United Kingdom confirmed the next major milestone of its program to renew the medium tactical helicopters of its Armed Forces with the purchase of the new AW149 from Leonardo.
Since its official presentation in May 2022, the New Medium Helicopter Programme (NMH) set as its objective the acquisition and incorporation of a new family of tactical helicopters. Through this initiative, the aim is to field a common rotary-wing platform intended to replace the RAF’s Puma HC Mk2 and the Bell 212 and Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin II in service with the British Army and the Royal Air Force (RAF).
However, as confirmed on March 2 by the British Ministry of Defence, with the selection of Leonardo’s proposal based on the AW149, and estimating an investment of £1 billion, the scope and original ambition of the NMH have been reduced by almost half.
This is because, as indicated, a fleet of 23 medium tactical helicopters will be acquired instead of the 44 units announced in 2022. These aircraft will be produced at the Yeovil production plant, which in turn provides a boost by securing a total of 3,300 highly skilled jobs in the industry for the coming years.
Currently, in addition to the production of the future AW149 helicopters for the British Army and the Royal Air Force, the plant also has a specialized workforce providing support to the Merlin and Wildcat fleets, both of which are essential for the Royal Navy’s embarked operations.
Another detail to take into account is that part of the future orders from new AW149 customers will include a high number of components produced in the United Kingdom, as well as their manufacturing.
Nevertheless, the delays recorded since 2022 had an impact at the industrial level, as Leonardo was the only company among the original three that maintained its proposal and did not withdraw it, thus ultimately being selected. Previously, proposals had also been submitted by Airbus with its H175M and Lockheed Martin with its UH-60 Black Hawk.
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