In response to a written parliamentary question from Adam Dance, Liberal Democrat MP for Yeovil, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) provided an update on the timeline for the introduction of the New Medium Helicopter.
Launched in February 2024, the NMH programme aims to replace ageing Puma helicopters and other legacy platforms with modern, versatile aircraft.
Dance asked the Secretary of State for Defence about the timetable for the helicopter’s entry into service, following a prior answer on the subject.
Maria Eagle, Minister of State for Defence, responded, stating, “The Ministry of Defence is continuing with the established procurement process, managed by Defence Equipment and Support, for the New Medium Helicopter programme.”
She noted that the competition remains “commercially sensitive,” and further details cannot be confirmed until the evaluation and approval process is complete. Eagle added, “The proposal will be evaluated through 2025 when, subject to Government approvals, a contract award is anticipated.”
The Ministry of Defence recently reaffirmed its commitment to the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) programme, clarifying that its progress will not be impacted by the UK’s broader defence spending plans or the scheduled retirements of the Puma and Chinook helicopters.
In response to previous written parliamentary questions from James Cartlidge MP, Maria Eagle, Minister of State for Defence, also previously confirmed that the programme is advancing as planned.
Amid discussions about increasing defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, Cartlidge asked whether this timeline could affect the NMH programme. Eagle assured: “The progress of the New Medium Helicopter programme is not dependent on reaching 2.5% GDP of expenditure on Defence spending.”
The programme is being pursued independently of these broader budgetary considerations, Eagle remarked.
And that’ll be another year gone before we actually see any movement on this? As it now transpires there is only one bidder so why not just get on with it?
Exactly 👍
Could not agree more…it does not take a years to sort the procurement for something off the shelf like a medium lift rotor..it’s pure generation of in year savings by creating artificial delay.
Maybe because it’s not the right platform and doesn’t meet the requirements.
Just because one bidder is left doesn’t necessarily say it’s the right one. If Sikorsky and Airbus pull out as they deem it unachievable to deliver the numbers and support against money available doesn’t that ring alarm bells 😳.
If they intend to confirm it by the end of the year then any other contenders had better get a move on don’t they?
It’s just a excuse to put off spending for another year it’s going to be the AW149!
Again why ?
By which time the pilots and master aircrew have left
Stop faffing about and order the AW149
If was simply buying the best equipment we can buy it would be an easy decision & probably the Blackhawk but the government also want to protect jobs so it was always the AW149 but they still have to go through the procurement process which has added millions to the cost of the helicopters and delayed the order & purchase.
If was simply buying the best equipment we can buy it would be an easy decision & probably the Blackhawk but the government also want to protect jobs so it was always the AW149 but they still have to go through the procurement process which has added millions to the cost of the helicopters, delayed the order.
I always tended towards the fact that Yeovil needs to be sustained and that Britain cannot lose its ability to manufacture helicopters…. but I am starting to change my mind. An order for 24 of these things will only sustain the plant for a short period… but there isn’t enough domestic need to keep the factory going. Leonardo has shown that it wishes to manufacture most of the helicopters in Italy. Do we still have the ability to design new helicopters in the UK? These AW149s will have been designed in Italy.
I think the only way we can sustain the factory would be to order more merlins and for the Government to commit to replacing our existing fleets with a new version (perhaps a two engine Merlin). By committing to such a programme and making a long term agreement with the Italians, I think is the only way to keep the plant going for more than a couple of years. The agreement could be wrapped up with the rest of the GCAP discussions…
Equally, helicopters are a mature technology and ultimately are we better of buying as many as we can for as low a price as we can, and as others have said that probably leads us to looking at (Polish manufactured?) Blackhawks.
A 2 engine Merlin; that’s certainly out of the box thinking. That said the fact that no decision has been made and that the SDR has not been published does make you think that the govt is not really happy with any of options on the table – AW149 or Blackhawk. Maybe NH90 users would be interested to swap them for a 2 engine Merlin?
Oh it might happen, might not, and in service by when 2028/30? no rush.