The British Army has taken delivery of two Airbus H145 Jupiter HC Mk2 helicopters in Brunei as part of a GBP 148 million Ministry of Defence programme, the UK Defence Journal understands.
The aircraft, operated by 667 Squadron Army Air Corps, will be used for jungle training and take over tasks previously carried out by the now-retired Puma HC2 fleet. Roles will include medical evacuation, troop transport, underslung load operations, firefighting, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, and general aviation support.
The MoD described the delivery as a significant milestone in one of Defence’s fastest-moving recent procurement programmes, with the aircraft reaching Brunei just two years after the contract was placed. A total of six helicopters are being procured to serve both the Army Air Corps in Brunei and the RAF’s 84 Squadron in Cyprus, with all six expected to be in theatre by the end of 2026.
The programme supports 250 UK jobs at Airbus in Oxfordshire, with a separate £33.6 million support and service contract announced in December sustaining a further 30 jobs, including eight personnel deployed to Brunei to maintain the aircraft.
Mark Langrill, Director of Rotary Wing and Uncrewed Air Systems at the National Armaments Director Group, was quoted as saying: “Getting these aircraft to Brunei on this timescale has taken genuine commitment from everyone involved – our MOD team, colleagues in the Army and RAF, and the team at Airbus Helicopters UK.”
He added: “We’ve demonstrated that accelerated acquisition can work, and we’ve done it in a way that delivers real capability to the front line while supporting UK industry.”
Group Captain J Brooks, Senior Responsible Owner for the programme, said: “The rapid delivery of this programme demonstrates the ability to deliver a modern and reliable capability that provides value for money to Defence.”
Hold on… We bought Airbus Juno’s but we didn’t decide on the NMH contract at the same time? Yeesh.
aw149 can carry 16/19 troops from a spec sheet. H145 can only carry 10
Sorry just re read the comment. Either way the orders for the H145 was 2 years ago. But the start of the MH was 2021, and then one by one the companies left. So, the tender was for 44, but we got 23, unless there will be another batch.
Jupiter can only carry 10 pax, rather than Puma’s 16. Is that acceptable for troop transport?
People need to remember these are largely for training roles, freeing up the more ‘combat orientated’ airframes for use elsewhere.
A large part of this deployment is also training of small cadres of special forces also.
I’d rather these smaller types be used here than tie up dwindling numbers of larger airframes that would be better used elsewhere.
Absolutely bang on.