The Government has again confirmed that the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) programme is still awaiting ministerial sign-off, after a fresh round of parliamentary questions sought clarity on its timetable and status.
In an answer published on 25 November, Defence Minister Luke Pollard said officials are continuing to work through the NMH business case and that “a decision [will] be made shortly as part of the upcoming Defence Investment Plan.”
Earlier answers from September and June show the same pattern. In September, then Defence Minister Maria Eagle told MPs that NMH remained under consideration within the Strategic Defence Review and the forthcoming Defence Investment Plan, adding that the Ministry of Defence could not comment while the approval process was ongoing.
In June, she confirmed that the NMH competition launched in February 2024 would continue unchanged, with proposals to be evaluated through 2025.
A programme stalled
The official position sits awkwardly with the state of the competition. NMH began as a three-way contest between Airbus (H175M), Leonardo (AW149) and Lockheed Martin/Sikorsky (S-70M Black Hawk). By mid-2024 both Airbus and Sikorsky had withdrawn, leaving Leonardo as the sole bidder. That development raised expectations of a straightforward selection process but instead contributed to growing uncertainty about the Government’s intentions.
In 2025 the programme was downgraded from “Green” to “Amber” in the Government’s Major Projects Portfolio, due to workforce shortages across delivery teams and ambiguity around the competition outcome. Leonardo has since warned publicly that its Yeovil factory, the UK’s last full-spectrum helicopter manufacturing site, may not survive without the NMH contract.
The programme aims to acquire up to 44 medium-lift helicopters to replace the RAF’s Puma HC2 fleet and consolidate several separate rotary-wing roles into a single, multi-mission aircraft. The ambition is to simplify logistics, training and sustainment while providing an aircraft that can be rapidly reconfigured for varied missions through an open-systems architecture. Beyond the aircraft themselves, NMH is designed to support a domestic industrial base, including a UK production line, training pipeline and long-term maintenance capability.
Despite the scale of the requirement and the repeated ministerial references to an imminent decision, no award has yet been made. Until the Defence Investment Plan is published, the future of the programme, and of the UK’s only remaining helicopter manufacturing plant, remains uncertain.
Another bowl of porridge! Why can’t the MOD make defence procurement work? And now deliveries of Ajax have stopped due to an unacceptable number of injuries to the first regiment’s allocation. Apparently, vibrations are rearing their ugly heads once more. God help us all.
Yes it’s not looking good around Ajax.. although I suspect they were looking for issues and so had a heightened level of vigilance.. there were reports of lots of vomit..so that would be a Vestibular System Stimulation issue.. which is going to be more or a problem than just physical vibration injuries to be honest.. because it’s the whole package.. movement, vibration and low frequency noise overloading the Vestibular system and turning you into an up chuck vegetable.
What are the options for the Army if the Ajax is inoperable? In wartime, you use what you have, ie, Halifax and Stirling bombers that would have been cancelled in peacetime. Could a rapid update of Bulldog and Warrior go some way to overcoming the immediate shortfall? What a bloody mess, and with Puma and CV90 production running at full capacity, what else can step in?
There already is an immediate shortfall.
CVRT was withdrawn before the Ajax family which replace them came into service. The recce Regiments of the RAC Armoured Cavalry have been using Warrior already as a stopgap, and reorged internally because otherwise they don’t have any vehicles. I don’t believe Warrior is in use in all Sqns of the 3 Regiments in question.
RA. Virtually no SPG.
RAC recc, as above.
Warrior. No replacement in sight, a proper replacement, not fudging ARES for example pretending it is an IFV or using Boxer.
NATO know both are not IFV replacements no matter how much ministers or the Army pretend.
So the Armoured Infantry are left hanging with Warrior loss incoming.
432 replacement, where?
Land Rover replacement, where?
Stormer replacement for SHORAD, meant to be Patria according to rumours. Where?
RE AVRE’s, Titan due to go to be “replaced” by an inferior system, Trojan will no doubt follow.
Terrier at least is safe AFAIK.
There are programs and words, where are the orders?
Why is it that the Army seems utterly incapable of getting a piece of kit into service promptly? It cannot be just a case of blame HMG for lack of money, they’ve spent around 12 billion on Boxer and Ajax alone. Granted, decades of nothing due to Afghan and Iraq have made things far, far worse, that is the fault of Labours Blair and Brown.
Finally, is Andover’s staff working for the Russians?! Tongue in cheek I know, but so frustrating!
It’s amazing really it’s seems the Ajax programme makes you want to vomit in so many ways😂😂😂😂…
The amount of money the army has spent on armoured vehicles is insane.. your are correct it’s about 12 billion pounds and yet the army is still driving around in 50 year old armoured vehicles and has zero plans for an IFV and has ordered less than 1000 new armoured vehicles total.. the quest for shiny and new has essentially destroyed the armies AFV force and is turning the army into essentially a mainly a light infantry army with some Mechanised forces in support… its chilling to note that the epitome of the light army, France has ordered or has plans to order about 3 times more AFVs than the British army.
That 12 billion could have equipped every unit in the British army with good APCs and have a huge amount of change.. considering 1.5 billion will buy you about 1000 good modern APCs off the shelf.
The frustrating issue Jonathan, is what the remedy will cost to fix Ajax? I bet it will kill off any further Boxers orders and finish off additional Ares and Ajax IVF.
It’s amazing to think of all the criticism on £6bn spent on two modern, fully functioning, full size fleet carriers for the Navy, and yet the Army spend the same amount on Ajax, which apparently is only good for making soldiers seasick on land!
I’m at a loss as to why it’s so important to keep Yeovil going when we were content to let the armoured vehicle business collapse, and require JVs and other agreements with foreign companies to restart UK production?
I think it is important to maintain helicopter engineering skills in the UK, but not at any cost. Certainly not if NMH numbers fall as low as 24.
If Yeovil is essential to defence industrial strategy, how about a follow-on order for Merlins to be built at Yeovil, and buy Blackhawk off the shelf?
We could perhaps look to the future and task Yeovil with rotary UAS/RPAS/drone manufacturing, given their history…
As a taxpayer, I find it personally insulting when Leonardo threatens site closure over a contract for a mere 24 airframes. If Yeovil could go under if it doesn’t get such a small order, you may as well shutter it now.
I do believe that contrary to popular belief 149s are not more expensive than black hawk.. as of 2024 Blackhawks are 12 for .9 billion dollars all up…
I think that comes from the earlier stories back in the 2000s when we were offered 50 BH for something like 350 million or 500 million.
We bought Wildcat instead, double the price, over 1 billion.
Yeovil secured. HMA2 for the RN good. The AAC versions, questioned. No Armaments beyond the MG and not great at lift which the army wanted.
Same time, we spent good money updating 24 Puma, and bought a few second hand examples I recall
What it might cost now, while relevant, was not always so.
Let Yeovil build more Merlin. A bigger pinch point for me than F35. Of course, HMG don’t seem interested.
If we are looking at future UAV rotary types, fine, build them alongside the 149s if we must.
Thing is, navy needed wildcat. if the army had not got wildcat, the navy per airframe cost would have been significantly higher and may not have happened.
The cost of running a whole different type once you include all the support costs is massive so no way army would have got blackhawks instead of wildcat.
I suspect army had a choice of no helicopters and making navy helos poor value or army gets some helos for not much more cost than not having them…..
Hi Jonathan, yeah it’s a fair point and you mentioned the cost of the Sweden Blackhawk deal further down as being £680m for I think 12, and according to Leonardo the Poland AW149 deal is £1.54bn in 2022 prices for 32 airframes (5 built in Italy and the balance assembled in Poland), plus the additional training and logistics support. So money-wise £1.2bn would tally up for 24 AW149 if I’ve got my maths right, and give or take for fx fluctuations and all the nitty-gritty add-ons in contracts which are seldom in the public domain.
You mentioned that the through life costs have been calculated to be cheaper for AW149 over Blackhawk, which does surprise me. I would have thought given how few AW149s have been built and are in operation, it would be hard to compare them with certainty against the Blackhawk, and the Blackhawk should benefit from the wide usage, spare parts availability, etc. I suppose some of the modelling would perhaps take into account other Leonardo models, eg AW139 and derivatives, plus potential tax back from more work in the UK?
I’m not against the AW149 for NMH, if it provides the Army with what it needs and does the job. Is it going to be as capable, reliable, effective as a Blackhawk, at a price we can afford and delivered to schedule? If so, then all’s good.
But, given it’s a low volume production aircraft, it just feels risky at a time when money is still tight and a replacement is needed asap.
I’m also sceptical about our industrial strategy – it certainly doesn’t make sense to have Airbus or Sikorsky/LM set up a second helicopter production/assembly facility in the UK, when Yeovil hasn’t had new orders for 14+ years according to Leonardo. So, either NMH goes to Leonardo and gets built at Yeovil, or we buy foreign built Blackhawks and sustain Yeovil with new orders for existing types (i.e. Merlin).
Given that Puma needs replacing asap, we will want/need the NMH in service quickly, but 24 airframes will only keep Yeovil gainfully employed for a couple years at the rate we need them delivered, so what happens after that? or do we trickle build AW149s to keep the factory open until the next govt helicopter contract is issued? This would lead to a Type 23 situation where the Pumas would run out of hours before their replacements have been built, which isn’t ideal.
Maybe I’m just being too pessimistic…maybe if Leonardo do make good on an earlier promise to shift AW149 production to Yeovil, rather than just assembly, the 24 unit UK NMH order could kickstart a successful international sales run that would make Yeovil less reliant on UK orders. If the international orders are not forthcoming, though, what next for Yeovil?
I still think we need to be planning for additional Merlins to replace the current fleet when they reach end of life, as that is the best ASW helicopter on the market, and there’s nothing on the horizon to rival it. 24 AW149s and another tranche of ~20 Merlins would give stability to Yeovil for the medium term. But how would another wave of Merlin production slot into Yeovil’s schedule if they get AW149? Can they switch between the two, would it be two parallel lines, or is it one then the other?
just remembered Pumas have already flown off for the final time…so I guess we won’t end up in a Type 23 situation after all, we’ve headed that disaster off at the pass!
In which case, do we need an NMH at all? We’ve obviously been doing fine without it for the last 8 months!
Where were the Polish Merlins built?
They were built at Yeovil, with some fitting out in Poland
Thx. Am I right to think ( that some) AW149s are built in Poland? If so, as you hint, that would a profitability and scheduling challenge for Leonardo. The govt would insist on AW149 build in Yeovil. I have read the odd article reporting a sales push by Leonardo on AW159 …e.g. Philippine navy
Daniele, this is a dire situation. If Ajax production is halted and allocation to regiments deferred, there are few options open to the Army. Upgrading both Warrior and Bulldog might offer some medium solutions, with Bulldog being fitted with its armour enhancement package and possibly the forthcoming MIPS kit? Warrior upgrade could include the latest target stabilised systems, such as Thales ‘True Hunter System’ and other digital improvements where possible. This revisit of our legacy fleet would ensure enough vehicles to span the gap for either Ajax reengineering or replacement. There are a surprising number of FV432s and Warriors in private hands or cannibalised in army depots for an emergency recall, as we are seeing with MLRS.
Ajax will have to be sorted, as I believe it is now too big to fail, too many reassurances made, too many reputations staked, and too much money spent.
432 is ancient, that cannot come close to Ajax capability. Warrior might be needed in the AI Bns for longer.
There is no option for me than to sort any issues with Ajax.
There are a few options to try, and rubber tracks are one possible way to achieve improved compliance. The additional weight applied to various models is rumoured to have changed the dynamics for the worse! No short-term solutions are at hand other than delaying Bulldog and Warrior drawdown and as I suggested, attempting to retrofit some new technology. One other option could be the adoption of the Tracked Boxer to replace the Ajax only, leaving the other variants as planned. One question, could Tracked Boxer be the basis of an IVF to replace Boxer?
To replace Warrior…..sorry.
Ajax is the project gift that keeps on giving 😂. Agree that WCSP ‘lite’ and 432 ‘sustainment program’ look likely. Patria might be the get out of jail card.
eBikes – they work for Deliveroo and bag snatchers
Good thinking.
Ajax could become the next most expensive drone
Good at burning houses down as well.. especially the Chinese built ones.. come to think of it maybe Chinese e-bikes are a type of deniable strategic strike….🤔🤔🤔
Bikes, hmmm. I wonder if we could do a deal where we swap Ajax for E bikes in a one one ( no cash) deal with the nations bag and phone snatches.
Do they have an offical body we could talk too?
The Ary would get a highly mobile, reliable and air transportable recon asset and the bag snatches would in turn be able to spot posh handbags from a considerable distance…
The Stirling was sub-standard. Many Bomber command crew thought the Halifax was better than the Lancaster.
I just can’t see the point of delaying this until DIP is ready. Surely they can’t still be weighing up which major programmes go forward with only a few weeks before scheduled publication. Even if he doesn’t have the details, he must know whether of not it’s expected to go ahead. Logically, if he was waiting on something in today’s budget, I could understand it. However, logic isn’t the way these things are done.
Genuine question, because I’m not a betting man – what odds can I get on the Budget clarifying what extra money is available for defence? So that the MOD can get on and make UK forces great again?
Well I myself have not had any doubts that there will be a NMH replacing Puma. Only..
How many the military actually get.
Will they be RAF or moved to the AAC, there were rumours there.
Whether RAF Benson survives. It has the SHF simulator training facility so you’d assume so, but MoD will always throw a base cut in for free if they can when cutting assets so you never know.
With the 6 HC145s sensibly being acquired for Akrotiri 84 Sqn and the flight in Brueni, and the 6 Dauphins of 658 also reportedly being kept ( which I agree with ) that’s a good chunk off the numbers required.
44? I’d come and clean the floors at the UKDJ offices, not a chance in hell. I’d be relieved at 30.
As always, and repeated here countless times by myself and others, Yeovil and industrial considerations take precedence over actual military need, every single time.
I don’t hear any MPs screaming that the RAF has no medium lift capability currently, only canvassing for assets to be built in their patch. You can say, sure, that is their role, gaining jobs for their areas, but it hardly builds a cross party concensus for a bigger military.
I wonder how much they’ll cost over Polands?
Does make you wonder, especially when you compare the number of medium helicopters that we had to say what France has! 24 aircraft is my guess.
Agreed. Based on the 24 Puma we had remaining, so the new low “benchmark” is always talked of as some sort of mythical frontier to reach and be content with.
Much like the RNs 13 new Frigates.
That we had, was it 44 Puma, never enters minds.
At least to counter that the Chinook force has grown steadily, but if phase 2 of the update program isn’t funded numbers will collapse in that force as well.
The 14 ER are meant to be followed by others.
And France lacks a heavy lift, though they have lots of light and medium.
I think you are correct they are seeing how few they can get away with before publication of the investment plan.. I’m not so completely sure it will be 24.. but I’m betting it will not be 44 or even 40.. someplace in the 30s maybe… I think it may also depend on what they think they can move to autonomous systems around medium lift..
Autonomous in the medium category?
I get Malloy Drones moving parcels from ship to ship or ammunition forward to the RM, but what autonomous system replaces a battlefield helicopter carrying troops?
The recent one shown here was still a Blackhawk.
What’s out there that I’m missing?
What I think your missing Daniele is HMGs and the MODs massive ability for wishful thinking and the future horizon of the shiny and new.. essentially the shiny and new that is not an order this year.. just the fact that people are now throwing out examples of medium lift drones.. will i think colour the numbers.. it would not surprise me if some of the money from the medium lift contract does not becomes a future industrial stimulus to develop a medium lift autonomous capability.. since when did “not actually existing” ever become a reason for the MOD to not sunset or reduce actual real capabilities 😂😂😂..
👍 Of course, the military is always about the future that never arrives.
Im now not sure it will happen, I think it might be 5 or 6 additional Chinook, (if we are lucky) over the 14 ordered, with Benson closed.
The squadron standards have been laid up, so in reality medium helicopter support isn’t resting, its already gone.
With no commitment for additional defence cash in the budget, there no money anyway.
I do wonder if part of the issue is that actually the RAF have essentially zero interest in medium lift helicopters.. it’s a think they essentially have to do for the army.. maybe if the army had control of the medium lift programme it would have a bit more fire in its belly… or considering Ajax, warrior CSP and boxer maybe not.
I think you are absolutely spot on Jonathan. I would personally have taken the opportunity to give up on any pretence that the Army Wildcats are anything other than a chocolate teapot, hand some over to the Navy and sell the rest, replacing them with a medium helicopter.
The Army would get far more use out of such an asset, troop/ logistic movements under its own control and a very useful support asset for AH64E.
Yep, give the Army medium support utility and the RAF heavy support.
I used to think rotary should be contained in AAC, but after Ajax/Warrior/Boxer/CH3/no AS90 replacement, I’m a bit concerned they could be trusted!
The Army has shrunk so much as well, that an enlarged AAC would make up a disproportionate share of land forces. Does that matter? Possibly. In terms of internal politics, future strategy, budget allocation…
The Marines also use the Army wildcats, theyre shared
It was very very long time ago we operated 44 Puma. I think 23 were upgraded to HC2 standard in 2013.
It was.
The “up to 44” comes from the MoD, and they were putting other types in the frame as well, not just Puma.
Which is why 44 is baloney and 24 the likely number as it reaches the next low benchmark which repeats itself throughout defence.
The 6 HC145s and retaining the Dauphins mean less NMH are needed.
Spot on DM – I’ll put my money on 30 air frames. No doubt AW149 must be the front runner with local jobs/industry etc.
On a side note, I wonder if the Crowsnest AEW cancellation means the AW101 Merlins destined for the programme will be repurposed to ASW?
Crowsnest isnt cancelled, the existing Merlin fleet is rotated between the ASW and ARW role. And were not getting 30 NMH, closer to 20 at best
It’s scheduled for retirement in 2029.
thanks for the clarification Hugo
Increased ASW capability must be a priority. I wonder whether an end to end ‘find and kill’ capability could be constructed by combining T31, drones and Merlin i.e. whether T31 could deployed as a pilot version of the proposed T92 ‘sloop’.
Probably eyeing up Benson for the next batch of illegals
“Imminent Decision”
😂😂😂
In my opinion, they decided Leonardo AW from the moment it started, the only question is how many fit into the budget that caused the other 2 companies to walk.
So much for actual military need.
This might be used as a grandstanding moment of “newness” like other such announcements which often have a large dose of spin built in for those unaware of military matters or with short memories.
Leonardo is a sop to the EU. The boys and girls wanted Black Hawk because it works and is proven. Spares are there, logistics, the lot. As for how many? My concern is the Puma will not be replaced at all. Or a silly number that will prove expensive to procure and maintain.
THIS! Blackhawk was the answer, but the question was reframed to exclude it.
MOD wanted a Eurocopter come what may.
I’d say it has far more to do with a sop to the local employment in the U.K. and all the votes connected to that then anything “EU”.
I don’t see it as a sop to the EU, but buying European and keeping jobs.
But….industry and jobs you know….sod the military.
But if Yeovil closed, then everyone will be crying blue murder that the gov isn’t investing in British helicopter manufacturing and skilled jobs. I can see the comments now 🤷
Absolutely spot on, we have held that position for years mate….
As have the French….who seem to support their sovereign industries without screwing their military. Maybe we should ask them for the secret?
Yes Blackhawk works.. but so does the 149.. and if we order Blackhawk we destroy or sovereign capability to produce rotors..and we are not getting it back.. and I don’t now how many time we need to relearn this lesson.. SOVEREIGN capability is everything.. shiny gold plated toys that leave you under sovereign control of another nation is essentially selling your nation our.. sometimes you armed forces have to fight with what you nation can provide and that may not be the best… but it’s better than facing having the rug tugged out from under you.. ask Ukraine.
“shiny gold plated toys”
That is what many would say the 149 is, given the unit cost of a handful?
Not so much really.. if you look 12 Blackhawks all up will set you back 900 million dollars in 2024 prices ( that’s what Sweden paid for 12 last year) that’s is 680 million pounds.. so essentially the 1.3 billion pounds budget for the medium lift rotor would get not get you even 24 black hawks all up.. infact 24 all up Blackhawks would cost 1.36 billion pounds if you look at 2024 contract prices.. I suspect that is why they fell out of the contract.. I did actually read that HMG was looking for an all up price of 1.2billion for 24 and the fact the 149 is the only one left standing tells all really.. there were some through life cost reviews as well and apparently the 149 has a cheaper through life cost than a Blackhawk..
OK, fair enough.
Blast your reasonable response.. I’m try to find distractions from writing up client notes.. 😂😂
Sorry mate! If ones wrong on costs, they’re wrong. No issues from me there. It gets to the point will they just order something!! BH or whatever.
I’m just trying to find reasons not to actually work.. my wife has just told me to stop looking at UKDJ and finish my work… my name is Jonathan and I’m addicted to commenting on UKDJ.
Aren’t we all! Nowhere else where people speak my language.
Unfortunately Jonathan, without going down this rabbit hole again, sovereign capability went years ago.
It’s an Italian company, assembling Italian designed helicopters, from Italian supplied kits.
Wildcat was the last throw of the dice.
Re Blackhawk, its abilities are legendary, its capable of taking enormous damage and going back for more.
It did precisely this in Afghanistan and guys are walking about today because of it, who otherwise would now be 6 feet under.
When Merlin was deployed, it took small arms damage and was grounded, Blackhawk was patched up, refueled and sent straight back into the fray, manned by incredibly brave crews.
Used in a similar role, the 149 would suffer exactly the same fate, over complex and not tonka tough.
What’s needed is an airborne builders transit.
I don’t mind the Leonardo offering being the sole contender. A medium utility helo is not rocket science, and keeping a helicopter manufacturing capability in the UK is important if we have to gear-up for a war threat, better than waiting in a queue for the US equivalent.
I wouldn’t be too harsh.on HMG for the delay either. The new government has only had 18 months in office to understand and begin to sort out the massive black hole in defence equipment. They are not doing too badly with first steps – good increase in defence budget, action on upgrading family housing, barracks.and naval bases, decent pay rise, armaments manufacture and do on. Getting to grips with the big tapestry of procurement projects and needs is a lot harder, particularly as we no longer have the specialist outfits like RARDE who knew what they were doing, instead we have the pretty underwhelming DESO (sp?), which seems to be mainly a purchasing department doing admin.
.
Ref numbers, the NMH budget is little over £1bn, the AW 149s apparently cost about £40m a shot, which is a lot compared to.a Black Hawk, which means we will get about 24, unless HMG can drive the cost down. That may be one cause of the delay.
Another cause is that the next carriage on the heli procurement train, after the 6 Jupiter’s arrive, is the 14 Chinook Extended Range aircraft. This us a big financial hit, something like £1.5bn, or £100,000+ per heli. There isn’t the budget to biy Chinook and NMH at the same time, so Leonardo has just had to wait patiently. Not ideal I know, but that’s the financial restriction.
25 AW 149s will be welcome, but it is a bit of a peanut really. If we use the US Army force model – the US is pretty sound on combat rotary -3rd Division would have IIRC 30 frontline helis in their aviation bde, 1st Division similar, plus more for training and reserve back at base.
RAF would need a couple of sqns for its own use for CSAR, utility supply, out-of-area deployment etc..To me that would be 30 aircraft, viz 2 sqns of 8/13 plus 4 in OCU.
Basically, even 40 NMH.would barely scratch the surface.
Still, it looks like the order for the first 25, maybe more, is moving up to the starting line, which is at least a start.
I agree to be honest.. winning wars is a game of industrial capacity and as we have seen the US will use its supply and industrial capacity as way to control nations that are dependent on it.. sovereignty is fundamentally the most important imperative.. as long as the sovereign equipment is OK for the Job then you should go with that.. having the gold plated best in class that then losses you the sovereign capacity to produce the capability is geostrategic insanity.
I think you are far too generous Cripes.
“good increase in defence budget” Where? There is no new money yet beyond the billion or so last year that went straight to the hungry monster that is the DNE, only reductions.
“action on upgrading family housing, barracks. and naval bases” That has been ongoing for many years regardless of who is in charge. They want to close plenty as well!
“decent pay rise” Yes….out of the existing budget, Healey gave himself a big old pat on the back there at the Labour conference, what gave from the military to fund that I wonder.
“instead we have the pretty underwhelming DESO (sp?), which seems to be mainly a purchasing department doing admin”
Yes, and no, there is a lot more to DE&S, which I assume you meant, than just purchasing and admin.
“order for the first 25” Mate….the first…you really expect this government to order more than the Puma force they replaced?
Of course it is a peanut, when will we order anything in the numbers to get economy of scale? We won’t. I doubt 33 Sqns people have been sat around at Benson since they and 230 Sqn disbanded beyond some being sent to Brunei, they will have been dispersed elsewhere in the RAF.
So where are the people to operate a bigger fleet of Sqns that you suggest? I’d not be surprised to see only one, plus the existing 28 Sqn which is the OCU for the wider SHF. But hey ho… world beating and all that and we keep a sovereign ability alive, while the military goes without!
A balanced post IMO which could be applied to most of what the govt has been doing since it took office – essentially arresting a downwards slide and establishing a stable foundation of the basics.
More talks. More committees. More decisions kicked down the road. Meanwhile Labour seem determined to tank the economy without any tangible benefit for Britain. No increase in military strength (excessive waste and delays will soon swallow up any increase in funding and it’ll take years or even decades to BEGIN building our army, navy and air force strength). Ajax being forced on the army and continually delayed due to the same problems plaguing it for years. Equipment being trashed (not even sold or retained for training but trashed).
Extend this to unmanned roadworks blocking roads for weeks; calls to lower speed limits to 10mph; back roads being faster than motorways; plans to narrow roads so traffic is stuck behind bicycles. (I wonder if China is hell bent on slowing its citizenry to a crawl and having its lorries stuck in jams?)
Tell me Labour have no idea how to run a country without using those words.
I go into the rest of your comment and the politics in particular but Ajax being forced on the army ? Come on ! The RAC desperately wanted Ajax at the expense of Warrior CSP and it was their baby right from the start. As I’m sure Dern will confirm In this country at least ( the US is different ) politicians let alone civil servants don’t dictate to the armed forces what kit or capability we can have or not just how much money is available and then it is up to the individual Service heads to argue the case for a particular programme or equipment or not. . In this particular case , Ajax , it was a bit of a bunfight between the RAC who wanted Ajax and the Infantry who wanted a decent IFV , Warrior CSP or CV90 being the main contenders. In this particular case ( as usual ! ) the Infantry lost. Sadly as I wish them the best the RAC have now also lost big time as to put it bluntly Ajax has not turned out well .
Sorry that should of course read ‘ I will not go into ‘ . Unfortunately there is no way to edit your comment after you press send.
I suppose the only consolation prize it’s that it’s not the infantry throwing their guts up due to vestibular system disruption…
Hoorah – good point very well made – up the thin red line 🇬🇧👍
I’m not really sure you can blame Labour for
1) 10 mile an hour speed limits as these don’t actually exist
2) bikes as we have had those for like sort of ever..and it would be a bit communist dictator like to ban them
3) road works… I’ve been counting the cones in unmanned roadworks for 50+ years
4) traffic jams on motorways.. sort of deffo remember sitting in the M27 car park many times over
Agreed ! Anyway back to Ajax – can’t really blame Labour for that either 😃👎😀 . I do wish we could stick to issues Defence and keep party politics out of these posts.
The AW149 is many things, but it’s not a credible battlefield helicopter.
Nice business class helo, but it’s no Puma or Blackhawk.
So the Poles paid €1.95 billion for 32 with 20 being built domestically.
So £52m per heli. I wonder if that includes weapon pylons, spare engine, training simulator and so on, because otherwise it looks like a lot of money.
HMG was originally.hoping for £25-30m a copy, so they could get 36 of them. That seems a bit naive for such a small production run.
At least the delay on the UK order will give us a chance to see how.the AW-149 performs in Polish service.
A third of the defence investment plan will spent on what’s called critical infrastructure, roads ect and intelligence. There will not be much left over believe me.