TSAMTO, March 5th. The British Ministry of Defense is expected to sign a contract for the purchase of New Medium Helicopters (NMH) at the end of this year.
As a reminder Infodefensa.com The only candidate was the AW-149 helicopter of the Italian Leonardo group.
Six months ago, Airbus and Sikorsky refused to participate in the tender procedure due to the selection criteria. Airbus then explained that after analyzing the requirements put forward by the British regarding the NMH helicopter, it was decided to refuse to participate in the tender, since the company could not formulate such a proposal that would meet the criteria of the British army, and on the other hand, it would be interesting for the company in terms of making a profit. The management of Lockheed Martin (Sikorsky) refused to participate in the program for the same reasons.
Until now, it was believed that the British Ministry of Defense would hold another competition with a corresponding postponement of the contract deadline (it was scheduled for 2025) and a reassessment of the selection criteria. However, an unnamed source told the publication that the contract would still be signed on a previously scheduled date.
Recall that since February 2021, when London first announced a plan to purchase, starting in 2025, a new medium helicopter to replace the fleet of 23 HC2 Puma helicopters (later it was decided to replace three types of helicopters), Leonardo with AW-149; Airbus with H-175M, which were proposed to be assembled in the UK; as well as Sikorsky, which planned to present the S-70M Black Hawk manufactured in Poland with certain modifications at the facilities of the customer country.
The request, published on May 18, 2022, contained information on the supply of up to 44 platforms in the amount of 0.9 to 1.2 billion pounds (1.1 to 1.5 billion dollars) during the seven-year period of the contract (to be determined by the agreed production schedule). The price includes a training and maintenance package.
The British Ministry of Defense's notification stated that the NMH project is designed to streamline existing requirements for multiple rotorcraft in one type of platform, thus maximizing unification to increase efficiency and operational flexibility.
Applicants had to provide a general-purpose multi-purpose medium-lift helicopter, adapted for installation, but not equipped with specialized equipment for specific military missions.
The Puma is the only medium–lift helicopter available to the British Air Force (the Chinook heavy-lift helicopter is also used). Initially, it was assumed that along with the Puma, the British Ministry of Defense would replace the smaller Bell-212 and Bell-412, as well as the AS-365 Dauphin.
At the moment, it is known that six Bell helicopters will be replaced by the Airbus H-145, the purchase of which was announced in November 2023, and the operation of the AS-365 Dauphine is likely to continue.
