New Medium Helicopter

The New Medium Helicopter (NMH) is a British military programme to procure a new medium-lift support helicopter to replace several existing helicopters operated by the Royal Air Force and British Army. It is expected the new aircraft will enter service during the mid-2020s.

New Medium Helicopter
Project for Procurement of a fleet of medium-lift helicopters
Issued by UK Ministry of Defence
Service
Value £1 billion over five years
Date initiated 2021
Expected completion 2028
Proposals

Programme launch

On 22 March 2021, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) published Defence in a Competitive Age, in which it indicated that it would invest in a new medium-lift helicopter during the mid-2020s.[1] The Defence and Security Industrial Strategy, published at the same time, outlined that to maintain cost-effective access to upgrades and support for the helicopter fleet, the MOD's intention was to consolidate the existing fleet through the replacement of the Royal Air Force's Westland Puma HC2, Bell 412 Griffin and subsequently two other helicopter types, with a New Medium Helicopter (NMH).[2] The defence press expect that the two other helicopter types to be replaced are the British Army's fleets of Bell 212 and Airbus AS365 Dauphin.[3]

Despite the MOD at the time having yet to release a formal requirement, Airbus Helicopters, Leonardo and Sikorsky all displayed their proposals to meet the NMH requirement at the DSEI 2021 defence exhibition in September 2021.[3]

In October 2021, the MOD indicated that no final decision had been taken on the method of procurement, but that the expectation was that it will be subject to a competition.[4] A prior information notice was published by the MOD on 11 November 2021, which outlined the scope of the project and the intention to carry out early engagement with potential suppliers. The MOD indicated that it anticipated 36 to 44 new helicopters would be procured, as well as two cockpit flight simulators and one cabin simulator. The £1 billion contract is anticipated to run from October 2023 until October 2028 and as well as provision of aircraft would include air and ground crew training as well as technical support and maintenance.[5]

Contenders

As of February 2022, the following aircraft had been offered by their respective manufacturers to meet the anticipated requirement.

Airbus Helicopters H175
Bell 525 Relentless
Leonardo AW149
Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk


Airbus Helicopters H175M

European multinational company Airbus Helicopters has indicated that subject to exact requirements, it would expect to offer a military version of the H175, designated as the H175M. It would be manufactured at Airbus's Broughton facility located at Hawarden Airport in Wales.[6] Airbus have passed the 100,000 hour mark on their H175 fleet, but with only around 50 built to date. Seventy per cent of these are flown in offshore rig support, hence a much higher flight time per airframe.[7]

Bell 525 Relentless

American manufacturer Bell Textron indicated in February 2022 that it intends on offering the Bell 525 Relentless.[8]

Leonardo AW149

Italian based manufacturer Leonardo intend on offering the AW149. It is currently operated by the Royal Thai Army and Egyptian Navy. Leonardo has indicated that it would assemble the AW149 at a new assembly-line at its Yeovil facility in Somerset, England.[9] Leonardo have built just over 100 aircraft, including the civilian AW189, to date, and in recent months passed the 100,000 flight hours milestone for the fleet.[7] Leonardo's 31 March 2022 press release confirmed that Yeovil will act as a 'final assembly facility' due to Italy's investment in their main AW189/AW149 production line in Brindisi, Italy.[10]

Sikorsky

Sikorsky has indicated it expects the latest generation of the S-70M to meet the requirement.[7][11] The company highlighted that the Black Hawk was designed as a military helicopter, rather than being a military version of a civilian airframe and that it was combat proven. It also indicated it may be willing to work with a partner to assemble the aircraft in their factory PZL Mielec in Poland[7] Entering service in 1979, the Black Hawk is operated by 29 countries, including by the US military which had over 2,000 examples across a range of variants.[12]

AceHawk Aerospace ML-70
AceHawk Aerospace ML-70

Separate from the Sikorsky proposal, AceHawk Aerospace is offering a fleet of pre-owned and upgraded UH-60A/L Black Hawks, known as the AceHawk ML-70.[13]

Potential contenders

Other potential contenders include:

See also

References
  1. "Integrated Force 2020 – Army" (PDF). Defence Command Paper: Defence in a competitive age (CP411). Ministry of Defence: 54. March 2021.
  2. "Defence and Security Industrial Strategy: A strategic approach to the UK's defence and security industrial sectors (CP 410)" (PDF). Gov.uk. Ministry of Defence. 26 March 2021. p. 99. Retrieved 18 September 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. Jennings, Gareth (14 September 2021). "DSEI 2021: Contenders showcase New Medium Helicopter offerings for UK". Janes.com. Retrieved 17 September 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. Hunter, Jamie (20 October 2021). "Airbus pushes new H175M for UK Puma replacement". Vertical Mag. MHM Publishing. Retrieved 23 October 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. "New Medium Helicopter (NMH)". Contracts Finder (GOV.UK). Ministry of Defence. 11 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. "Airbus selects Broughton for military helicopter production line as part of RAF Puma replacement bid". Deeside.com. 14 September 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. "UK New Military Helicopter requirement - is S70M the cheapest option?". Helihub. 15 December 2021.
  8. Jennings, Gareth (16 February 2022). "Bell urges UK to wait for 'next-generation' 525 for NMH". Janes.com. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  9. Hunter, Jamie (26 March 2021). "Leonardo to pitch AW149 for RAF Puma replacement". Vertical Mag. MHM Publishing. Retrieved 23 September 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. Leonardo, PR (31 March 2022). "AW149 Skills Share". AW149 skills sharing. Retrieved 31 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. Dunlop, Tom (December 13, 2021). "Black Hawk helicopters offered to UK as Puma replacement". Uk Defence Journal.
  12. "Sikorsky Black Hawk Helicopter". Lockheed Martin. 24 August 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. Jennings, Gareth (18 March 2022). "AceHawk Aerospace to offer Black Hawks for UK NMH requirement". Janes.com. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  14. Parsons, Dan (1 December 2021). "Airbus sees market for hundreds of H160Ms outside France". Vertical Mag. MHM Publishing. Retrieved 4 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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