Rotorcraft
Leonardo Wins UK Contract for New Medium Helicopter
23 British-built AW149s to help safeguard sovereign manufacturing capability
AW149 in flight
The AW149 received military certification in 2014. © Leonardo

Leonardo has emerged as the successful bidder for the UK’s long-running New Medium Helicopter (NMH) program, with the airframer selected to supply the UK Armed Forces with 23 AW149 helicopters. The selection, made just hours before Leonardo’s current tender was due to expire, follows a protracted process fraught with program delays and revisions to requirements.

According to the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), the £1 billion ($1.3 billion) award will also safeguard more than 3,000 jobs at Leonardo’s Yeovil facility in Somerset. This southwest England site marks the UK’s last sovereign helicopter manufacturer, which was at risk of closure should no contract materialize.

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