UK defence ministers have met with senior executives from Leonardo twice over the past fortnight as they attempt to reassure the Italian firm over the government’s continued commitment to the long-running New Medium Helicopter (NMH) programme.
In addition, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) will decide on whether to proceed with the NMH acquisition ahead of an end-March deadline, according to defence procurement minister Luke Pollard.
Speaking during a Westminster Hall parliamentary debate on 11 February, Pollard said the Secretary of State for Defence, John Healey, had met with Leonardo chief executive Roberto Cingolani the previous week.
Pollard “continued those discussions” at a meeting with Cingolani during the World Defence Show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia earlier this week, where they were joined by the head of Leonardo’s helicopter division, Gian Piero Cutillo.
Leonardo has been the sole remaining bidder in the £1 billion ($1.36 billion) NMH contest since the autumn of 2024 when rivals Airbus Helicopters and Sikorsky opted not to compete.
If the airframer is awarded the NMH deal, it will build its AW149 super-medium-twin at its existing plant in Yeovil in southwest England.
However, Cingolani last autumn warned that without a major contract like NMH, Leonardo would have to review the future of the factory, putting around 3,000 jobs at risk. The company could not “subsidise Yeovil forever”, he said.
His frustration has been raised by the overrunning contest. Although Leonardo submitted its best and final offer for NMH last April a contract, expected in the autumn, has yet to emerge.
Instead, the NMH programme has become entangled with the government’s similarly delayed defence investment plan (DIP), which although promised before the end of 2025, now appears unlikely to be published before March at the earliest.
Leonardo’s best and final offer also expires at the end of that month, raising the risk that continued government indecision will torpedo any prospect of a contract being awarded.
Pollard, however, stresses that the government has committed “that we will not allow the decision to time out”, he says, pledging a conclusion “as soon as possible”.
“We will make a decision ahead of that period as part of the work we are doing on the defence investment plan,” he says.
Pollard says the MoD is “working flat out” to deliver the DIP but declines to commit to a timeline for its publication.
Yeovil MP Adam Dance, who secured the debate on NMH, says he is “pleased to have had reassurances that the contract won’t time out and that negotiations are set to continue between the government and Leonardo.
“I know there is a lot of hard work going on behind the scenes, however, I am still frustrated at the length of time this is taking, and I hope a decision is reached quickly.
“I will continue to do all I can behind the scenes to make sure the contract goes ahead.
“This is about national security and about protecting sovereign British manufacturing. The government must now get on with it and deliver.”
