UK parliamentarians demand NMH answers

Seen in Polish service, the AW149 is the sole competing platform for the UK NMH requirement. A procurement decision is due in the DIP. (Polish Ministry of National Defence)

UK parliamentarians have demanded answers from the government on the status and timeline of the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) programme.

Tabling questions in the House of Commons on 12 January, members of parliament (MPs) quizzed the Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence (MoD), Luke Pollard, on the NMH requirement to replace the UK armed forces' retired Airbus SA 330E Puma HC2 helicopters.

“To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the delays to the awarding of the NMH contract and the potential closure of the Leonardo helicopter site in Yeovil,” was the initial Urgent Question tabled by Liberal Democrat Adam Dance, the MP for the town of Yeovil that is home to Leonardo UK's helicopter production site. Further questions were put by MPs from the sitting Labour Party, as well as from the opposition parties.

Janes first reported in January 2021 the MoD's intention to launch the NMH competition. Formally commenced later that year, the GBP1 billion (USD1.4 billion) requirement to replace 23 Puma HC2s with “up to 44” new helicopters was initially downselected to the Airbus Helicopters H175M, Leonardo AW149, and Lockheed Martin S-70M Black Hawk (a previous element of the wider GBP1.2 billion requirement that included the replacement of three other helicopter types was earlier separated out).