Airbus Helicopters and Lockheed Martin have withdrawn from the running for the U.K.’s New Medium Helicopter program, leaving Leonardo’s AW149 as the only remaining candidate for the procurement.
Officially launched in May 2022, the NMH program is primarily intended to replace Airbus Puma HC2s with a versatile platform that can also take on roles performed by other helicopters in the U.K.’s medium-lift fleet, including Agusta-Bell AB412s, AB212s, and Airbus AS365 N3 Dauphins.
The deadline for final submissions in response to the invitation to negotiate (ITN) was Aug. 30 — with Airbus and Sikorsky electing to withdraw the H175M and S-70M Black Hawk, respectively, from consideration.
In a statement announcing its decision, Airbus said it had decided its continued pursuit of the NMH contract “cannot be justified.”
“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,” the company said.
“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.”
Airbus had been targeting the NMH as the launch program for the H175M — the militarized version of its super medium H175 — with plans to build the type in Broughton, Wales.
The manufacturer said it continues to believe the H175M is “the right helicopter for the U.K.,” and added that it would continue to support the U.K.’s Puma fleet “for as long as required.”
In a statement provided to the media, Lockheed Martin said it decided not to submit the Black Hawk “as we could not meet [the NMH ITN’s] minimum requirements in today’s market conditions.”
“We believe that Black Hawk remains the best solution both for the U.K. armed forces and U.K. industry, and continue to collaborate with U.K. MOD to support its refresh of the wider U.K. Rotary Wing Strategy,” the company continued.
Lockheed had partnered with StandardAero for its bid, with the Black Hawks intended to be assembled at StandardAero’s facility in Gosport.
Leonardo plans to produce the AW149s for NMH at its facility in Yeovil.
