LONDON, — March 2, 2026 : The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded a £1 billion contract to Leonardo for the manufacture and delivery of 23 AW149 medium-lift helicopters under the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) programme. The agreement was confirmed on March 2, 2026, concluding the NMH procurement process and securing continued military helicopter production at Leonardo’s Yeovil facility in Somerset.
The helicopters will replace the Royal Air Force’s retired Puma HC2 fleet and consolidate several existing medium-lift roles into a single platform. The programme is designed to reduce fleet diversity by transferring missions previously performed by three different helicopter types to one aircraft, streamlining training, maintenance and logistics.
Programme Background and Procurement Process
The NMH programme was first announced in March 2021 and formally opened for competition in February 2024. The initial projected requirement was for up to 44 helicopters. In 2024, the requirement was revised to 23 aircraft following defence budget and priority adjustments.
Leonardo remained the sole bidder after Airbus and Lockheed Martin withdrew from the competition more than a year before contract signature. The agreement was finalised shortly before the tender’s March 1 expiry.
By selecting the AW149, the MoD aligned its requirement with an existing, in-service multi-role platform to support faster integration into operational service.
Aircraft Capabilities and Roles
The AW149 is a latest-generation multi-role military helicopter with a maximum take-off weight of 8,600 kilograms. It has a cabin volume of 11.2 cubic metres and can carry up to 16 fully equipped troops or 19 lightly equipped personnel.
The aircraft is configured to conduct battlefield support, troop transport, logistics, search and rescue, medical evacuation and other missions in demanding operational environments. Under the NMH framework, the AW149 will assume roles previously distributed across multiple legacy platforms.
Production and UK Industrial Impact
All 23 helicopters will be built at Leonardo’s Yeovil site, the UK’s only facility capable of end-to-end design and manufacture of military helicopters. The contract sustains 3,300 jobs at the site, including 650 positions directly linked to the NMH programme.
Personnel at Yeovil are also engaged in ongoing production and support of the Merlin and Wildcat helicopter fleets, alongside engineering work on autonomous systems. The programme supports nearly 70 companies within the UK supply chain. Across Leonardo’s broader UK operations and associated supply chain activity, up to 12,000 jobs are linked to helicopter production at Yeovil.
The Ministry of Defence spends approximately £7 billion annually with the defence industry in the South West of England, supporting more than 37,000 jobs across the region.
Export Framework and Workshare
The agreement establishes Yeovil as the exclusive production hub for future export orders of the AW149 in this specific configuration. The contract increases UK domestic manufacturing workshare on the aircraft to more than 40 percent.
The MoD and Leonardo project that export orders for military helicopters assembled in Yeovil could exceed £15 billion over the next decade. Identified requirements for new medium-lift helicopters currently exist in approximately 20 countries. If projected export demand materialises, employment in the South West could increase by 20 percent, potentially rising to around 3,900 jobs.
Proteus Autonomous Programme
In addition to the crewed helicopters, the contract includes targeted investment in the Proteus autonomous rotary-wing uncrewed air system. Proteus is a three-tonne uncrewed aircraft developed in partnership with the Royal Navy.
The system completed its inaugural flight in late January 2026 at Predannack Airfield in Cornwall. Funding under the NMH agreement formalises Yeovil as a centre of excellence for military helicopter autonomy and supports further development of optionally-crewed operational concepts. Future integration between AW149 helicopters and autonomous systems is being explored for complex missions, including anti-submarine warfare.
Strategic Context
The NMH award is aligned with the government’s defence spending trajectory, which targets expenditure reaching 2.6 percent of GDP by 2027. The government has allocated £270 billion for defence across the current Parliament. The procurement forms part of the Strategic Defence Review and the Defence Industrial Strategy, both of which emphasise sovereign manufacturing capability within the United Kingdom.
Yeovil Facility Background
Leonardo’s Yeovil site traces its origins to 1915 under the Westland name, initially producing fixed-wing aircraft before transitioning to helicopter manufacturing in the 1950s. In recent decades, the facility has specialised in the Merlin and Wildcat helicopter programmes.
Prior to the NMH contract, the last major UK government helicopter order awarded to Yeovil was in 2006 for approximately 60 Wildcat helicopters.
Leonardo maintains additional UK operations in Edinburgh, Luton, Basildon, Bristol, Newcastle, Southampton and Lincoln.
The award of the NMH contract ensures continuity of domestic military helicopter production and establishes a production baseline for both UK and future export AW149 aircraft.
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