The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed the selection of the Leonardo Helicopters AW149 for its long-running New Medium Helicopter (NMH) requirement in a deal that also includes additional funding for the Proteus autonomous rotorcraft demonstrator.
Announcing the £1 billion ($1.3 billion) contract for 23 helicopters – confirming earlier reports – the MoD says the agreement safeguards over 3,000 jobs at the airframer’s Yeovil facility ibn southwest England where the AW149s will be assembled.
The super-medium-twins will replace the Royal Air Force’s now-retired fleet of 23 Puma HC2s and the five Airbus Helicopters AS365 Dauphins flown by the Army Air Corps for domestic special forces support missions.
Leonardo Helicopters says the AW149s will be powered by GE Aerospace CT7 turboshafts, a disapointment for Safran Helicopter Engines which had heavily promoted its rival Aneto-1K for the requirement.
However, no additional detail on the specification or the delivery schedule was immediately disclosed.
Beyond securing the final assembly work that is so vital to Yeovil’s medium-term future, the MoD says the “upgraded deal”, will see Leonardo establish the plant “as a future centre of excellence for autonomous helicopters”.
This includes more investment in Proteus, whose initial flight-test campaign had ended earlier this year following an initial two sorties.
The MoD does not say how much additional money has been allocated to the programme, but it is thought run to millions of pounds.
Proteus was developed under an initial four-year, £60 million contract, but it had been thought any follow-on funding would not be pledged before the publication of the government’s delayed Defence Investment Plan.
Besides the 23 AW149s to be built for the UK, Leonardo Helicopters says the Yeovil plant will also assemble examples for the export market.
“This defence investment works for Britain on every level. It strengthens our armed forces, secures thousands of skilled British jobs, and sets up big export opportunities,” says Defence Secretary John Healey.
“This government’s broad deal makes Yeovil the proud home of Leonardo’s global military helicopter production, building world-class helicopters for our forces and allies around the world for many years to come.”
Without the NMH agreement, Yeovil faced an uncertain future: Leonardo’s chief executive Roberto Cingolani last year warned the company would have to review its commitment to the site if further work from the UK was not secured.
Further good news for Yeovil could also arrive in the coming weeks, with Norway close to placing an order for two more search and rescue-roled AW101s and the Philippines lining up a deal for six AW159s.
Norway is also considering the AW101 for a separate requirement for anti-submarine warfare helicopters to equip its future fleet of British-built Type 26 frigates.
