New Medium Helicopter

The New Medium Helicopter (NMH) is a British military programme to procure up to 44 medium-lift support helicopters to replace the Westland Puma HC2 and initially, the Bell 412 Griffin operated by the Royal Air Force; and the Bell 212 and Airbus AS365 Dauphin operated by the British Army. It is expected the new aircraft will enter service during the late-2020s. By the mid 2020s, only the Puma HC2 is intended for replacement, the other types have already been retired or will remain in service.

Three manufacturers originally competed for the contract, Airbus Helicopters offering the H175M, Leonardo Helicopters offering the AW149 and Lockheed Martin offering the S-70M Blackhawk. However, in August 2024, only Leonardo had submitted a bid by the required deadline. The bid is expected to be reviewed during 2025, when a contract is also expected to be awarded.

Programme aims

The New Medium Helicopter programme has the objective of providing UK Joint Aviation Command with a modern medium-lift helicopter, replacing the outdated existing aircraft currently used by the British Army, the Royal Air Force, and UK Strategic Command bases in Cyprus and Brunei. The programme aims to achieve this by:

* Delivering five helicopter requirements through a single aircraft type to enhance commonality, thereby improving efficiency and operational flexibility.
* Using open systems architecture that supports the quick integration of various role-specific equipment and carry-on gear, allowing for future upgrades to address evolving threats.
* Developing training and support that uses a mixture of regular & reserve military personnel, Ministry of Defence (MOD) civil servants and contractors to provide maintenance, logistics, and training of helicopter aircrew, ground crew, and engineers.

Background

On 22 March 2021, the MOD published ''Defence in a Competitive Age'', in which it indicated that it would invest in a new medium-lift helicopter during the mid-2020s. The ''Defence and Security Industrial Strategy'', published at the same time, outlined that to maintain cost-effective access to upgrades and support for the helicopter fleet, the MOD's intention was to consolidate existing fleets through their replacement by a new aircraft acquired through the NMH programme.

Initially, the aircraft to be replaced are the Royal Air Force's twenty-three Westland Puma HC2 and three Bell 412 Griffin; and the British Army's three Bell 212 and six Airbus AS365 Dauphin. The Puma HC2 fleet is planned to be supported until at least 2028, whereas the Griffin and Bell 212, which supported British Forces Cyprus and British Forces Brunei, were replaced by the Puma in 2023 and 2022 respectively. In the meantime and separately from the NMH programme, the MOD published a transparency notice in November 2023 indicating its intention to acquire six Airbus H145M helicopters (to be known as the Jupiter HC2) for use in Cyprus and Brunei. The Jupiters are expected to be delivered in late 2024. ''Janes'' reported in February 2024, that the AS365 Dauphins used by army's special forces would now remain in service for the foreseeable future.

Despite the MOD having yet to release a formal requirement, Airbus Helicopters, Leonardo and Sikorsky (part of Lockheed Martin) displayed their proposals to meet the NMH requirement at the DSEI 2021 defence exhibition in September 2021.

In October 2021, the MOD indicated that no final decision had been taken on the method of procurement, but that the expectation was that it will be subject to a competition. A prior information notice was published by the MOD on 11 November 2021, which outlined the scope of the project and the intention to carry out early engagement with potential suppliers. The MOD indicated that it anticipated 36 to 44 new helicopters would be procured, as well as two cockpit flight simulators and one cabin simulator. At this stage the estimated cost of the contract was £1 billion and it was anticipated to run from October 2023 until October 2028.

Initially the program's main focus was the Puma HC2, but other types were included; by the time the contract was under review the focus was the Puma helicopters fleet. Breaking Defense news noted in 2024, "NMH has been designed to source a replacement for Airbus Puma HC2 helicopters, though it was previously intended to also replace Bell 212, Bell 412 and Airbus Dauphin fleets."

Programme launch

The MOD published a contract notice on 18 May 2022, officially commencing the competition and confirming the intention to acquire up to 44 aircraft. The contact would also include air and ground crew training as well as in-service technical support and maintenance. The contract would now be worth between £900 million and £1.2 billion. Although no contract start date was indicated, it is specified as running for seven years from the date of award. Invitations to tender were expected to be issued by the MOD by 30 September 2022.

In October 2022, the MOD selected four contenders to progress to the next stage, Airbus offering the H175M, Boeing with an undisclosed aircraft, Leonardo offering the AW149 and Lockheed Martin offering the S-70 Blackhawk. Other contenders which were suggested as potential bids were the AceHawk Aerospace ML-70 (a variant of the Blackhawk); the H160M Guepard and H225M Caracal by Airbus Helicopters; the UH-1Y Venom and 525 Relentless by Bell; the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey; and the NHIndustries NH90. Bell and AceHawk Aerospace did not pass the pre-qualification questionnaire. Boeing confirmed in March 2023 that rather than offering its own aircraft, which it was anticipated would have been the MH-139 Grey Wolf, it would be partnering with Airbus on the H175M bid.

In July 2023, the defence media reported that the number of aircraft to be acquired had been reduced to a maximum of 35. However, the MOD denied it had reduced the quantity under consideration, stating "There has been no change to the advertised requirement in the New Medium Helicopter contract notice that was published in May 2022." The MOD added that "the second half of the competition will be launched later n 2023"

Bids

Bidding was opened for the programme as the Invitation to Negotiate phase was launched in February 2024. Three manufacturers, Airbus Helicopters, Leonardo Helicopters and Lockheed Martin were expected to submit bids, with a closing date of 30 August 2024.

Throughout 2024, defence industry sources again indicated that the expected order size would be reduced, potentially to 25-35 aircraft, with the MOD declining to comment on the exact figure. A senior executive of Spirit AeroSystems, part of the Airbus bid, stated in May 2024 that the size of the contract would be for around 30 helicopters.

Shortly before the deadline for bids, Airbus announced it was withdrawing from the contest, stating that it would be "unable to formulate a responsible bid that would in parallel satisfy the customer’s requirements and provide adequate long-term returns to the business while implying a reasonable prospect of winning,”. Lockheed Martin also withdrew prior to the bid deadline, explaining that "We believe that Black Hawk remains the best solution both for the UK armed forces… but have elected not to submit a response to the New Medium Helicopter enderas we could not meet its minimum requirements in today’s market conditions,". This left the AW149 as the only contender.

A contract is also expected to be awarded in 2025. However, a Strategic Defence Review announced in July 2024 by the Labour government, has raised speculation that the project could face cancellation to make budget savings. In early December 2024, the Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry indicated that the evaluation of the bid is ongoing with the process expected to be complete in the first half of 2025.

Initial contenders

There were three initial contenders for the NMH contract.

Airbus Helicopters H175M

European multinational company Airbus Helicopters offered a military version of the H175, designated as the H175M. It is a twin-engine helicopter which according to Airbus has the largest cabin space and fuel capacity in its class.

Airbus was to partner with Boeing Defence UK, Babcock, Martin-Baker and Spirit AeroSystems to form the H175m Task Force. Pratt & Whitney Canada was to supply PT6C-67E turbo-shaft engines.

The H175M was to be manufactured at Airbus's factory located at Hawarden Airport, Broughton, Wales.

Leonardo AW149

Italian manufacturer Leonardo is offering the AW149. Partner companies forming Team AW149 UK would include Aerco, Chelton, Ford Aerospace, Helitune, LFD and RDDS Avionics. The AW149 operates with either two General Electric CT7-2E1 engines or two Safran Aneto-1K engines.

Leonardo has indicated that it would assemble the AW149 at a new assembly-line at its Yeovil facility in Somerset, England. Yeovil would act as a 'final assembly facility' due to Italy's investment in the main AW189/AW149 production line in Brindisi, Italy.

The AW149 is already operated by the Royal Thai Army, Egyptian Navy and Polish Land Forces.

Sikorsky S-70 Black Hawk

Lockheed Martin, through its Sikorsky Aircraft subsidiary, offered the S-70 Black Hawk. The Black Hawk was the only contender which was designed as a military helicopter and is combat proven, rather than being a military version of a civilian airframe. Entering service in 1979, the Black Hawk is operated by 34 countries, including the US military which had over 2,000 examples across a range of variants.

Lockheed Martin had selected StandardAero to carry out final assembly of the aircraft in Gosport, England.

Comparison table

See also

* Future of the British Army
* Future of the Royal Air Force

References

{{reflist

External links

Airbus – H175M

Leonardo – AW149



New Medium Helicopter contract notice at GOV.UK

United Kingdom defence procurement
United Kingdom military aircraft procurement program
Helicopter procurement programs