The Ministry of Defence’s New Medium Helicopter (NMH) programme has been downgraded from Green to Amber in the latest Government Major Projects Portfolio update, reflecting workforce shortages and uncertainty over the outcome of the competition, the UK Defence Journal understands.
According to the NISTA Annual Report 2024–2025, “Compared to financial year 23/24-Q4, the Delivery Confidence Assessment rating at 24/25-Q4 increased from GREEN to AMBER. This is primarily due to the following factors. The Amber rating reflects challenges with workforce shortfalls across the core programme and delivery teams, and uncertainty about the outcome of the competition.”
The NMH programme is intended to rationalise three existing rotary-wing requirements into a single aircraft type. The MOD has stated this approach will “maximise commonality allowing improvements in efficiency and operational flexibility. The user requires a multi-role platform to operate in all environments in support of Defence tasks and across a spectrum of threats. An open systems architecture is required to allow for rapid employment of different role-fits and carry-on equipment. This will enable efficient future development to meet the demands of a changing threat environment.”
The latest figures show the programme’s planned end-date remains 30 September 2032. The report noted: “The schedule will be further developed after completion of the New Medium Helicopter competition.”
Budget pressures are also affecting the programme. The NISTA report stated: “The budget variance exceeds 5%. This is primarily due to the following factors. Spend on infrastructure being lower than planned, due to Defence financial challenges and internal spend commitment controls.”
The departmentally agreed Whole Life Cost for the programme has been reduced. “Compared to financial year 23/24-Q4, the project’s departmentally agreed Whole Life Cost at 24/25-Q4 (measured in £m) decreased from 1329 to 1222. This is primarily due to the following factors. Allocating some funding to support procurement of Airbus Jupiter HC Mk 2 (H145) helicopters for Brunei and Cyprus.”
First launched in April 2021, the NMH competition is one of the UK’s largest ongoing rotary-wing procurement efforts, aimed at replacing legacy fleets with a single multi-role helicopter platform expected to serve well into the 2030s.
The massive work load (for potentially no benefit) involved in bidding for contracts in the public sector is what puts lots of companies off from going into public sector work. Needs resolving.
What a surprise 🙄
One way to get back to Green….buy ‘off the shelf’.
Quite agree with you.
Oh no. There’s Yeovil and MPs to please.
Politics will always trounce what the military actually want.
A flipping Helicopter.
Affordable.
Reliable.
Takes damage, tested and works.
Not bespoke. Not good plated.
In the numbers needed.
We all know where this is heading.
Fewer than needed, by some distance.
Expensive.
But keeps Politicians happy and Yeovil in work.
Job done.
Meanwhile, in the interim two decades, we bemoan a lack of assets.
Rinse and repeat.
It seems like they didn’t do anything. They didn’t order anything, or spend the money on what it was supposed to be spent on (although they spent some on something else instead). However, there’s only one bidder. There’s no competition to complete! Negotiate the best deal on the AW149s, and if it’s okay order the helicopters. If it’s not, cancel the project. Start again either with a higher budget or more realistic requirements. Or buy a stopgap until the “NATO” Next Gen Rotaries are ready.
Whatever they get somebody will complain about something, so they should just decide if they can live with the Leonardo bid or not. I have a coin in my pocket if they are that indecisive.
Quite agree with you.
Rachel in accounts said No, No, No.
Or more likely as this project has been on the go for nearly 2 years the agreed and very ambitious Budget just doesn’t cover the costs anymore !
7 years to buy a freaking Helicopter? And they don’t think they can manage that!
Really how hard is it to buy a medium rotor, it’s an off the self product with a tiny number of realistic options.. this is in year cost saving at its most destructive…
“The Amber rating reflects challenges with workforce shortfalls across the core programme”
That is surely in reference to Leonardo? So why is it a problem for MoD?
RAF Benson is still there, and the personnel twiddling their thumbs, unless they’ve quit, or been transferred.
“and delivery teams, and uncertainty about the outcome of the competition.”
So DE&S Delivery Teams. So sort them out, there has been a Helicopter Delivery Division with various teams in it at Yeovil for decades.
Uncertainty? The RAF need a new medium lift after clever Labour went and cut Puma. What a load of cobblers.
The only uncertainty is introduced by the MoD and HMG themselves. Other companies walked away.
How many billions is Reeves providing in this much vaunted 2.5% then 3% uplift again?
Typical is an often used word in issues like this. I prefer balls up. They have no intention of replacing Puma, but cover it in the usual smoke and mirrors.
Blackhawk would have sufficed, still would. The priority though for MP’s and others is keeping Yoyovil, jobs and votes.