The next phase of the UK New Medium Helicopter (NMH) programme, in the form of an invitation to negotiate (ITN), was announced on 27 February 2024.
The announcement was made by UK Minister for Defence Procurement James Cartlidge in a speech at the 2024 Defence iQ International Military Helicopter conference in London.
The ITN phase of the NMH programme will see three downselected bidders – Airbus Helicopters UK with the H175M, Leonardo Helicopters UK with the AW149 and Lockheed Martin UK offering the S-70M Black Hawk – compete to “deliver up to five rotary-wing requirements using a single aircraft type”, according to a press release by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), although it did not detail what those five potential requirements are.
The MoD noted that the competition will be managed by its Defence Equipment and Support organisation and that proposals will be evaluated through to 2025 when, subject to government approvals, a contract award is anticipated.
The NMH programme was originally intended to replace the fleet of 23 Royal Air Force (RAF) Puma HC2s operated by No 33 and No 230 squadrons out of RAF Benson in Oxfordshire, five Bell 212s serving with the Army Air Corps’ (AAC’s) No 667 Squadron in Brunei, three Griffon HAR2s operated by the RAF’s No 84 Squadron out of RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus (tasked with search and rescue) and six special-forces-roled AS365 N3 Dauphin IIs operated by the AAC’s No 658 Squadron from the Special Air Service barracks at Credenhill in Herefordshire.
However, in November 2023 the UK MoD published a notification of intent to procure six H145 aircraft from Airbus Helicopters to serve British forces operating in Brunei and Cyprus. Prior to this the NMH requirement overall, including the platforms for Brunei and Cyprus, was quoted by the MoD as being for up to 44 helicopters.
The ITN for the NMH programme has been delayed four times since it was first expected in September 2022.
