With the NMH tender evaluation expected to complete in the first half of 2025, a sole-source bid of the Leonardo AW149 (pictured at the Farnborough Airshow 2024) seems increasingly likely. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)
The UK New Medium Helicopter (NMH) requirement is proceeding, with the tender evaluation due to report in early 2025.
The Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence (MoD), Maria Eagle, said on 4 December that the tender evaluation is now ongoing and is expected to complete in the first half of 2025.
Launched in 2021 NMH is a GBP1.2 billion (USD1.5 billion) competition to replace the UK's 23 Puma HC2s with “up to 44” new helicopters (a previous element of the requirement to replace three other helicopter types was later separated out).
The minister's comment is the first public pronouncement from the MoD on NMH since two of the three competing vendors withdrew from the competition in late August. Janes was first made aware earlier in 2024 that vendors were having doubts about the viability of the programme, with senior industry executives telling lawmakers in May that the actual requirement could be for as few as 23–30 helicopters.
With the MoD having set a 31 August deadline for responses to its invitation to negotiate (ITN) phase ahead of type selection and contract award, Airbus and Lockheed Martin/Sikorsky announced that they would not be proceeding with their H175M and S-70M Black Hawk respectively, leaving Leonardo as the sole bidder with its AW149.
While both Airbus and Lockheed Martin/Sikorsky have said that they were unable to meet the Defence and Security Industrial Strategy (DSIS) obligations for the programme within the budget set out by the MoD, Leonardo called for the acquisition to be accelerated.
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