Leonardo will provide the UK with 23 AW149 medium-lift helicopters for the NMH programme. (Photo: Leonardo)
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has finally greenlit the long-awaited New Medium Helicopter contract, awarding Leonardo – the sole bidder – the £1 billion (US$1.35 million) contract for 23 medium-lift helicopters.
The AW149 is the helicopter Leonardo offered the UK MoD to replace the ageing and now retired Puma helicopters. According to the MoD, the new helicopters will also be used to work alongside uncrewed aircraft.
The order could then unlock further international orders for medium-lift helicopters, generating around £15 billion in exports for the next 10 years, the MoD has forecast.
Around 40% of work is to be
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While Denmark appears to be more committed to UAVs than most of its Nordic neighbours, its procurement efforts are likely to be split between American-made systems for its larger requirements and Nordic partnerships for smaller platforms.
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The revised funding allocation will see up to 23% of the additional budget put towards stockpiles of munitions, with the country’s GDP spending expected to reach 2.5% by 2030.
The design and development contract is set to run until the end of June and will now enable the partnership to drive the programme forward as it targets its 2027 demonstrator date.
The report comes as heads of industry bodies warn that the delayed defence spending plan has left smaller and medium sized businesses in stasis, unable to plan or seek out further investment.
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