Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, following the selection of the Leonardo AW149 as the British Army New Medium Helicopter, a) how many platforms will be purchased, in b) how many tranches and c) over what delivery timeline.

A formal decision on the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) competition has not yet been made. The second stage of the NMH competition commenced on 27 February 2024 with the release of the Invitation to Negotiate to Airbus Helicopters UK, Leonardo Helicopters UK and Lockheed Martin UK.

Only Leonardo Helicopters UK elected to submit a tender which has been evaluated but since the competitive procurement process is still active, commercially sensitive information, including aircraft numbers, delivery timeline and value, cannot be confirmed.

Officials continue to consider the NMH business case as part of the Government’s approval process, with a decision to be made as part of the upcoming Defence Investment Plan.