Airbus Helicopters and Sikorsky walk away from UK NMH contest at 11th hour
Leonardo Helicopters is the sole remaining bidder for the UK’s ongoing New Medium Helicopter (NMH) contest after rivals Airbus Helicopters and Sikorsky confirmed they were withdrawing from the competition.
With bids for the NMH requirement due to be submitted by close of play on 30 August there had been rumours over the preceding weeks that Airbus and Sikorsky were on the verge of pulling out of the contest.
While Leonardo has confirmed the submission of what it calls a “a bid that is fully compliant with the UK MoD’s requirements on budget, number of platforms and timeline”, that contrasts sharply with the position of the other competitors.
Airbus says it has “taken the decision to withdraw from the competition” based on a review of the detailed requirements for the NMH.
“Together with our partners we have concluded that we are unable to formulate a responsible bid that would in parallel satisfy the customer’s requirements and provide adequate long-term returns to the business while implying a reasonable prospect of winning,” it says.
“We believe that the outcome of this procurement as it stands would not be able to deliver on current defence industrial strategy objectives, particularly its ambition for long-term new jobs, opportunities for the UK supply chain and sovereign capability.”
Similarly, to satisfy domestic content requirements, Sikorsky had pledged that UK Black Hawks would be assembled by its partner StandardAero in Gosport on England’s south coast.
However, it has also opted not to bid. “We believe that Black Hawk remains the best solution both for the UK armed forces… but have elected not to submit a response to the New Medium Helicopter [tender] as we could not meet its minimum requirements in today’s market conditions,” it says.
FlightGlobal reported in July that the Lockheed Martin company was on the verge of walking away from the contest.
Although the absence of other bidders would seem to pave the way for the AW149’s selection, there is no guarantee that the contest will proceed.
The Puma helicopter has similarly served the Royal Air Force for a long time, having been first introduced in 1971 and extended several times. Puma will be retired in March 2025 when its current support contract expires. Pumas currently operate solely in Cyprus and Brunei, where they will be replaced by the new Airbus H-145 from 2026. During this short gap in capability, a commercial or military solution will be used for firefighting with our sovereign base in Cyprus and alternatives to Brunei will be used for some elements of jungle training.
