New British helicopter programme moves into next phase

The next stage of the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) Programme has been announced by the Minister for Defence Procurement, James Cartlidge.

The Ministry of Defence say that the NMH Programme is an initiative to acquire a modern medium-lift support helicopter, which will deliver up to five rotary wing requirements using a single aircraft-type.

“This means that the platform will be able to undertake Defence tasks that were previously undertaken by up to five different aircraft types, streamlining our capabilities. This will improve efficiency and operational flexibility, positively impacting ongoing and future UK operational capability. Once in service, it will provide the Armed Forces with a new medium lift aircraft capable of operating in all environments in support of a broad spectrum of Defence tasks, from warfighting to humanitarian efforts and operations around the world.

It was announced at the International Military Helicopter conference in London today that the Invitation to Negotiate has been released, meaning the three NMH candidate suppliers – Airbus Helicopters UK, Leonardo Helicopters UK and Lockheed Martin UK – will now compile their bids to be evaluated by the Ministry of Defence to determine the winning bidder.”

The competition will be managed by Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) and proposals will be evaluated through 2025 when, subject to Government approvals, a contract award is anticipated.

Minister for Defence Procurement, James Cartlidge said:

“The New Medium Helicopter will provide essential support to our military operations, and we’re pleased to have reached this next important stage of the programme.

The programme’s competition includes essential criteria that are key to securing vital rotary wing Operational Independence, allowing us to respond swiftly to emerging threats in a highly contested world.”

I reported last year that new data from the Ministry of Defence revealed that the timeline for the New Medium Helicopter programme had been extended by three years, while the project’s whole-life cost has also seen a notable increase. The data, extracted from the MOD’s annual report on major projects for the financial year 22/23-Q4, highlights the challenges and revisions encountered in the project’s journey.

In the MOD’s latest update, it was disclosed that “compared to financial year 21/22-Q4, the project’s end-date at 22/23-Q4 increased from 2028-07-07 to 2031-09-30.” The primary reason for this extension is “further analysis on the programme schedule” and amendments made during the Ministry of Defence’s Annual Budget Cycle 2022.

Simultaneously, the Whole Life Cost, compared to the previous financial year, has seen a substantial uptick from £1,172 million to £1,329 million. The MOD cited this increase was mainly “due to the programme receiving an uplift to safeguard the capabilities that the New Medium Helicopter programme plans to deliver.”

The Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s Delivery Confidence Assessment rating for the programme, however, remains at Amber. This rating is primarily linked to “the delay in securing the Outline Business Case approval.”