The first of the new medium-lift military helicopters for the UK is expected to enter service in January 2031, according to a written parliamentary answer from Defence Minister Luke Pollard.
Responding to a question from Conservative MP James Cartlidge, Pollard confirmed the timeline for the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) programme following the government’s £1 billion contract award to Leonardo.
“The NMH Entry Into Service is expected in January 2031, with the first aircraft delivered in the summer of 2030,” Pollard said. “The final aircraft is expected to be delivered in the autumn of 2033, which is also when the equipment acquisition contract is expected to end.”
Under the programme, Leonardo will build 23 AW149 helicopters at its Yeovil facility in Somerset. The government said the contract secures thousands of jobs and establishes the site as a global centre for military helicopter production and exports.
Pollard said the financial structure of the programme remains unchanged from earlier negotiations. “The financial profile for NMH has not changed since the release of the Invitation To Negotiate in February 2024,” he said. “Approximately one third of the contract value is expected to be accounted for over the next three Financial Years.”
The AW149 is intended to replace several ageing aircraft types and consolidate multiple rotary-wing roles into a single platform. The helicopter is designed to support a wide range of missions including battlefield transport, disaster relief and other defence operations. According to Leonardo, the aircraft’s modern design and advanced avionics are intended to improve operational flexibility while simplifying logistics by replacing multiple helicopter types with a single medium-lift platform.
Wonderful.
Delivering “at pace” again here?
Are they on a go slow job retention scheme like the T26s while the RAF go without?
You guessed it mate, let’s forget the MIC can now rub their hands and start on the UK specific mods….
I call a balls up, 2035 delay and 18 ‘tops’ for the money…
Hang on…I thought 3,000 jobs were at stake? How long will they take to build the first one? Or do they start bits of multiple aircrsft?
We are apparently moving “at pace” to a war footing but thankfully all the Bad Guys have witten to HMG giving solemn promises not to do anything naughty until “the 2030’s”…so no problem.
Well, Ukraine are taking out Russia, and Trump is taking out Iran, so the MOD may be thinking we’ve nothing much to worry about for 10 years or so. You wouldn’t put it past them would you.
For just 23 cabs. The mind boggles
And the gap since the Puma was pulled will be longer than WW2…..
Well 23 with that list of jobs they are supposed to do it’s not going to be long before they are knackerd🙄
So, they have simplified the logistics by having no helicopters at all! Brilliant!
On a more serious note, this schedule reveals just how low the NMH program was in the DIP priorities. It only happened because of the industrial job creation.
Paul….HMG have no interest in military capability, it’s always about the MIC and jobs.
This was called for what it is years ago, the priority is Westlands, not that the RAF have no medium helicopter capability till the 2030s.
I’m amazed at how many continue to scratch their heads in surprise that HMG are sincere.
I guess they have to get the Yeovil production line set up first with new jigs etc and train up the workforce on the specifics of AW-149, so an influx of design, engineering and training staff from Verigate. And then build and test a UK prototype or two, before series construction kicks off. That said, nearly 5 years to deliver the first one seems a bit extended. We don’t of course know how many changes to the specs the MOD has stipulated, which could complicate the timescale. It may be that the MOD have to slow things down to fit in the cost of the extended range Chinooks, which are coming to £1.5bn.
The production timetable over three years is pretty good, 7 helis a year is the top end of the rotary procurementc budget, which is particularly meagre.
So not bad really in the real world.
PATHETIC….AGAIN.