Airbus and Lockheed Martin withdrew from the UK tender for the NMH to replace British Puma HC2 helicopters before the deadline for submitting bids.
In 2022, the British Ministry of Defence decided to procure around forty new medium transport multi-role helicopters as part of the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) program to replace 23 Puma HC2s and three Bell 412s of the Royal Air Force as well as five Bell 212s and six Dauphin IIs of the Army Air Corps. The amount of this contract was then estimated at 1 billion pounds sterling. Four candidates declared interest for tenders: Boeing (MH-139 Grey Wolf), Leonardo (AW149), Airbus Helicopters UK (H175M) and Lockheed-Martin UK (S-70M Black Hawk).
Following Boeing’s withdrawal from the tender, there were three competitors. The double withdrawal leaves Leonardo as the sole bidder for the $1.3 billion programme. Airbus Helicopters committed to installing an assembly line dedicated to the H175M in Broughton if it won the NMH contract, while Lockheed-Martin UK assured us that its supplier, StandardAero, would be responsible for building the Black Hawks.
Airbus Helicopters UK stated that its decision to withdraw was based on a review of requirements that left it “unable to formulate a responsible offer that would simultaneously meet customer requirements and provide adequate long-term profitability for the company, whilst implying a reasonable prospect of winning.”
Similarly, Lockheed Martin UK said it had decided “not to submit a response to the ITN for the new medium helicopter, as we could not meet its minimum requirements under current market conditions.”
As part of the ITN phase of the procurement, all competitors were required to submit their offers by Friday, 30 August.
