New Medium Helicopter Contract

Adam Dance Excerpts

Monday 12th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Adam Dance (Yeovil) (LD)]

(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the delays to the awarding of the new medium helicopter contract and the potential closure of Leonardo helicopter site in Yeovil.

[The Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry (Luke Pollard)]

I thank the hon. Member for Yeovil (Adam Dance) for this urgent question and thank you, Mr Speaker, for allowing me to provide an update on the current status of the Ministry of Defence’s new medium helicopter procurement.

Earlier this afternoon, I spoke with the CEO of Leonardo UK and the managing director of Leonardo Helicopters to continue our conversations around NMH exports and autonomous helicopters, and stressed that Leonardo remains an important strategic partner for the MOD. In fact, I had to leave that meeting early to get to this UQ. It is something that remains on my priority list.

The NMH programme was first announced in March 2021 by the previous Government, with competition opening nearly three years later in February 2024. The Government will make a final decision on the award of the NMH contract through the wider defence investment plan. As the Defence Secretary has said in this House, we are working flat out to deliver the DIP, which will deliver the best kit and technology into the hands of our frontline forces and, importantly, will invest in and grow the UK economy. It will be published as soon as possible and is backed by the Government’s largest sustained increase in defence investment since the end of the cold war, spending £270 billion on defence in this Parliament alone.

[Adam Dance]

Thank you again, Mr Speaker, for granting me this urgent question. I also thank the Minister for his response.

Leonardo in Yeovil, the home of British helicopters since 1915, has been the only bidder for the UK’s £1 billion new medium helicopter contract for over a year now. It is clear that the current bid will not be sustainable past March. If this contract is not awarded by then, we will lose over 3,000 manufacturing jobs in Yeovil, support for over 12,000 jobs in the regional supply chain and the £320 million that Leonardo contributes to local GDP. We would also lose our country’s ability to produce our own helicopters end to end here in the UK at a time of serious global tensions and insecurity.

Will the Minister please reassure us that the Government plan to go ahead with this contract and that the delays do not mean that the funding for the contract is not available? Can the Minister commit today to protect the future of the site in Yeovil? Will he state that the new medium helicopter programme is vital to our national defence? Finally, with the defence investment plan now seemingly in limbo, can the new medium helicopter programme be separated from the plan and awarded today—yes or no?

[Luke Pollard]

I thank the hon. Member for his questions. He will have heard my first answer, which answers some of his questions, which said that the NMH decision will be made as part of the defence investment plan. That will be announced shortly, so I will not be able to give him an answer today. I continue those conversations with Leonardo, as indeed I have today. It is important that we continue having those constructive conversations because I understand the importance of Yeovil not only to his constituency, but to our wider defence ecosystem and, as a south-west MP, to the wider region as well. Leonardo is expert in not only building helicopters but servicing them, and I am excited about some of the work it is undertaking on autonomous helicopters, as well as its wider business interests across the UK, especially in electronics and other areas. I am happy to continue conversations with the hon. Member about this, as I will do with the company and with the trade unions representing the workforce.