New Medium Helicopter

Luke Pollard Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd March 2026 Written Statements

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

I am updating the House regarding the new medium helicopter procurement. In an incredibly volatile and unpredictable world, characterised by emerging threats and shifting geopolitical dynamics, the importance of a robust and agile sovereign defence industry cannot be underestimated, and medium lift will remain an enduring requirement moving forward.

The Government have been clear that we intend to spend more of a rising defence budget with British-based firms, helping to make defence an engine for growth.

I am announcing today that the Government have selected Leonardo’s AW149 for the NMH requirement. We inherited this procurement from the previous Government, and through joint working between the Ministry of Defence and Leonardo, including by the Defence Secretary and Leonardo’s global CEO, the Government have secured an improved agreement with Leonardo in respect of the NMH acquisition.

The new deal delivers on the strategic defence review and defence industrial strategy—improving warfighting readiness and strengthening the UK’s defence industrial base.

The Government recognise the importance of Leonardo UK in delivering sovereign capabilities in rotary lift. Leonardo UK’s work in respect of developing new autonomous helicopter options is world leading, and I am grateful to the team at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil, businesses across the UK, Leonardo in Italy and its UK supply chain for their commitment to renewing the capabilities of our armed forces.

The agreement with Leonardo will deliver the 23 new medium helicopters and four training simulators, securing 3,300 jobs at Yeovil in Somerset. But our agreement goes further than the previous procurement started by the last administration.

I am pleased to report that we have gained an agreement from Leonardo that paves the path for future military international orders to be built in the UK, with an increased workshare for the UK above 40%. Leonardo have also agreed to make the United Kingdom the home of exports for the AW149, enabling greater access to the market and the potential for over £15 billion of export opportunities over the next decade.

Furthermore, Leonardo has agreed to make Yeovil its global centre of excellence for autonomous helicopters, and today I can confirm to the House that the Ministry of Defence will also invest further in Proteus, the UK’s first autonomous uncrewed air system, which is built by Leonardo and recently undertook its first flight. The development of uncrewed and autonomous technology in the UK is at the heart of the Government’s defence industrial strategy and could offer the opportunity to make platforms such as NMH optionally-crewed.

This Government are committed to a new partnership with industry. Working collaboratively, we have secured a substantial deepening of the relationship between the Ministry of Defence and Leonardo UK. It increases UK workshare in the new medium helicopter and secures the operations of Yeovil for many years to come.

This is a substantial improvement on the previous arrangement and is not only the renewal of the MOD-Leonardo UK helicopter relationship, but a clear articulation of the new approach the Government are taking as we prepare for the publication of the defence investment plan.

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