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Updated: UK Government Confirms Leonardo AW149 Order After Contract Award on Brink of Deadline

FlyMarshall NewsroomBy No Comments9 Mins Read

Days after the news was all but confirmed by other sources, the UK Government has officially placed its order for the Leonardo AW149. 

The UK Government has now confirmed earlier reports that 23 AW149 helicopters have been ordered from Leonardo for the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) program. Unofficial comments suggest that a follow-on order beyond these 23 airframes may come through in the future. 

Days after the news was all but confirmed by other sources, the UK Government has officially placed its order for the Leonardo AW149. AW149

Worth £1 billion, the deal is said to sustain 3,300 skilled jobs in the UK and paves the way for production of export aircraft at the Yeovil site. Also mentioned in the announcement is further development of and investment in Proteus, the UK’s first full-size rotary wing unmanned aerial vehicle. Proteus’ first flight took place earlier this year at the National Drone Hub in Cornwall, with the aircraft subsequently transported by road back to the Yeovil factory. 

Secretary of State for Defence John Healey said “This defence investment works for Britain on every level. It strengthens our Armed Forces, secures thousands of skilled British jobs, and sets up big export opportunities. It is a major vote of confidence in British industry, British workers and British innovation.   This Government’s broad deal makes Yeovil the proud home of Leonardo’s global military helicopter production, building world-class helicopters for our forces and allies around the world for many years to come.  It backs British jobs and security today and makes the UK a pace-setter in uncrewed, technology and innovation for tomorrow. ”

Nigel Colman, Managing Director of Helicopters UK, Leonardo further remarked: “We welcome the decision to award the New Medium Helicopter contract to supply medium lift helicopters to the Ministry of Defence, as well as the continued investment in Proteus – our autonomous rotary wing uncrewed air system in development with the Royal Navy. Leonardo is committed to providing the UK Armed Forces with a world-class medium lift helicopter based on our leading AW149 platform that will serve our military personnel for many years to come. The Government’s procurement of the AW149, as well as the continued investment in autonomy, will support more than 3,300 jobs in Yeovil, the Home of British Helicopters, as well as 12,000 across the UK supply chain.”

Article continuing below was written and released prior to the official confirmation: 

At least 23 AW149 helicopters will be built at Leonardo’s Yeovil helicopter factory, which the company has repeatedly said would be at risk of closure without new contracts, in a deal worth £1 billion.

This number is down from the envisaged numbers from the start of the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) program, though it is a near match for the 24 Puma helicopters which underwent the upgrade to HC2 standard – subsequently one of these was written off in Afghanistan, bringing the fleet to 23 airframes.

Replacement of other types, like the Bell 212 and Bell 412, originally included in the NMH program, has since been taken on by Jupiter HC2s (Airbus H145s). Many, including Leonardo, will certainly be hoping that a follow-on order for additional airframes is forthcoming in the future. 

Leonardo AW149. (Image credit: Leonardo)

Leonardo’s offer of the AW149, which was due to expire in the coming days, was the only remaining bid for the NMH contract after the withdrawal of Airbus and Sikorsky. Despite this occurring in 2024, it has taken until now for the UK Government to firmly commit to the buy – previously deferring the announcement pending the release of the Defence Investment Plan (DIP). The DIP was due last year, but to date has yet to be released. 

Roberto Cingolani, CEO of Leonardo, told participants in an earnings call on Feb. 26 after news of a planned announcement at Yeovil by UK Secretary of State for Defence John Healey being scrubbed hit the press, that a deal was close and advised listeners to ‘wait 24 hours’. 

After The Telegraph reported that the Treasury, led by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, had vetoed the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) plan to announce the order, the BBC and the Financial Times subsequently revealed that this action had been reversed. The trade union representing many workers at Yeovil, Unite, then pushed out a press release celebrating the news. 

At the time of writing, we are yet to see an official announcement by the UK Government confirming the award.

Perpetual delays to the awarding of the NMH contract has been one of the biggest criticisms in terms of defence policy leveled at the incumbent and previous governments. Though the impending need was apparent to many for years prior, given the age of the Puma fleet, the NMH program traced its origins to a need identified by 2021’s Integrated Review. Prospective bidders began launching their offerings during that year, and a contract notice was then issued in 2022. Full bidding began in early 2024, though, as said earlier, two of the three bidders would then drop out by the end of that year. 

RAF Puma retirement
RAF Puma deployed flares over Kabul during Operation TORAL, the United Kingdom’s contribution to NATO’s Resolute Support Mission to train and Mentor the Afghan National Army during their war against the Taliban. (Image credit: Cpl L Matthews/Crown Copyright 2018)

The lack of quick, firm decision-making on the program ruined any chance of seeing helicopters entering service before the Puma was withdrawn, a decision eventually made in November 2024. The RAF is now without any medium lift helicopter until the AW149 is ready to enter service, relying solely on Chinooks for rotary wing air transport alongside a small number of Jupiter HC2s which will predominantly operate from RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus. Any medium lift in the meantime can only be provided by the Merlin HC4s (and, theoretically, Merlin HM2s) of the Fleet Air Arm – a less than ideal situation as the Merlin fleet is already overworked with its own taskings. 

File image of a Royal Navy Merlin HC4 deployed to Norway for Exercise Nordic Response 24. (Image credit: UK MoD/Crown Copyright)

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham remarked on the uncertainty faced by Leonardo workers as the government dragged its heels on NMH: “We are pleased that the Rachel Reeves has now listened to Unite on this issue. However, it took way too long to get this done, and we still have to question why workers were left in the dark until the 11th hour.”

AW149

The AW149 was developed as a military-specific variant of the widely successful AW139 helicopter. As a relatively new product, only small numbers have so far made it into service with customers worldwide including Poland, Thailand, and Egypt. The UK’s helicopters will be the first of the type constructed at Yeovil, and given the small number currently planned Leonardo will likely be hedging their bets on attracting more orders which can sustain the plant in the longer term. 

A spacious interior can accommodate up to 16-19 troops, depending on the amount of kit being carried, and provision for external weapon wings allow the helicopter to be fitted with a variety of payloads including rocket pods, Hellfire missiles, or external fuel tanks. Given the new interest in low-cost anti-drone munitions, it is conceivable that the UK might seek to integrate APKWS guided rockets or even the MBDA Martlet lightweight multirole missile onto the helicopters. 

Although it itself was developed from a civilian product, the larger and longer range AW149 also spawned a civilian-focused derivative of its own in the AW189. The AW189 has, interestingly, been ordered by a number of armed forces and is also one of the helicopter types contracted by the UK’s HM Coastguard for search and rescue. 


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