Having been in service since the early 1970s, the Puma is scheduled to be replaced along with three other helicopter types under the UK's NMH requirement. (Janes/Patrick Allen)
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) is seeking government approvals necessary to proceed with the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) tender to replace the Westland-Aerospatiale SA 330E Puma HC2 and three other rotorcraft types in UK military service.
Speaking at the IQPC International Military Helicopter (IMH) 2023 conference held in London from 21 to 23 February, Head of Combat Aviation Programmes at British Army Headquarters Commodore Jol Woodard said that with four companies having been recently passed the pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) stage of the NMH requirement to replace the Puma, Bell 212, Bell 412, and Airbus Dauphin, work is under way in earnest to kickstart the next stage of the competition so as to field the capability from 2025.
“We are working incredibly hard to secure necessary cross-governmental approvals needed to launch the second part of the NMH competition as soon as possible,” Cdre Woodard said, adding that he was unable to divulge any further information beyond that which had been put into the public domain.
Offers from Airbus, Boeing, Leonardo, and Lockheed Martin were downselected in the PQQ stage of the NMH requirement in December 2022. Airbus is offering its H175M, Leonardo its AW149, and Lockheed Martin its S-70M Black Hawk. Boeing is understood to be offering a services, sustainment, and training solution for the selected airframe, rather than pitching one of its own.
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