After an official announcement at Leonardo’s Yeovil plant on Feb. 26 was scrubbed at the last minute, it is now reported that the UK Treasury has finally given the delay-plagued program its approval.
At least 23 AW149 helicopters will be built at Leonardo’s Yeovil helicopter factory, which the company has repeatedly said would be at risk of closure without new contracts, in a deal worth £1 billion.
Exclusive. Chancellor Rachel Reeves will approve deal to buy 23 helicopters from Yeovil based Leonardo supporting 3000 jobs the Italian owned firm warned were at risk. The decision effectively overrules MoD which had “deprioritised” the project. Full story to come.
— Simon Jack (@BBCSimonJack) February 27, 2026
This number is down from the envisaged numbers from the start of the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) program, though it is a near match for the 24 Puma helicopters which underwent the upgrade to HC2 standard – subsequently one of these was written off in Afghanistan, bringing the fleet to 23 airframes.
Replacement of other types, like the Bell 212 and Bell 412, originally included in the NMH program, has since been taken on by Jupiter HC2s (Airbus H145s). Many, including Leonardo, will certainly be hoping that a follow-on order for additional airframes is forthcoming in the future.
Leonardo’s offer of the AW149, which was due to expire in the coming days, was the only remaining bid for the NMH contract after the withdrawal of Airbus and Sikorsky. Despite this occurring in 2024, it has taken until now for the UK Government to firmly commit to the buy – previously deferring the announcement pending the release of the Defence Investment Plan (DIP). The DIP was due last year, but to date has yet to be released.
(for the avoidance of doubt, my tip off was not from Leonardo, but local).
The visit was to have announced a contract for NMH. but was pulled at the last minute. There is a more than a degree of confusion in the SW, after a lot of work had been put into the event.
— Francis Tusa (@FTusa284) February 26, 2026
Roberto Cingolani, CEO of Leonardo, told participants in an earnings call on Feb. 26 after news of a planned announcement at Yeovil by UK Secretary of State for Defence John Healey being scrubbed hit the press, that a deal was close and advised listeners to ‘wait 24 hours’.
After The Telegraph reported that the Treasury, led by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, had vetoed the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) plan to announce the order, the BBC and the Financial Times subsequently revealed that this action had been reversed. The trade union representing many workers at Yeovil, Unite, then pushed out a press release celebrating the news.
The @unitetheunion calls it – #NMH awarded! pic.twitter.com/05nna7EKqM
— Gareth Jennings (@GarethJennings3) February 27, 2026
At the time of writing, we are yet to see an official announcement by the UK Government confirming the award.
Perpetual delays to the awarding of the NMH contract has been one of the biggest criticisms in terms of defence policy leveled at the incumbent and previous governments. Though the impending need was apparent to many for years prior, given the age of the Puma fleet, the NMH program traced its origins to a need identified by 2021’s Integrated Review. Prospective bidders began launching their offerings during that year, and a contract notice was then issued in 2022. Full bidding began in early 2024, though, as said earlier, two of the three bidders would then drop out by the end of that year.
The lack of quick, firm decision-making on the program ruined any chance of seeing helicopters entering service before the Puma was withdrawn, a decision eventually made in November 2024. The RAF is now without any medium lift helicopter until the AW149 is ready to enter service, relying solely on Chinooks for rotary wing air transport alongside a small number of Jupiter HC2s which will predominantly operate from RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus. Any medium lift in the meantime can only be provided by the Merlin HC4s (and, theoretically, Merlin HM2s) of the Fleet Air Arm – a less than ideal situation as the Merlin fleet is already overworked with its own taskings.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham remarked on the uncertainty faced by Leonardo workers as the government dragged its heels on NMH: “We are pleased that the Rachel Reeves has now listened to Unite on this issue. However, it took way too long to get this done, and we still have to question why workers were left in the dark until the 11th hour.”
AW149
The AW149 was developed as a military-specific variant of the widely successful AW139 helicopter. As a relatively new product, only small numbers have so far made it into service with customers worldwide including Poland, Thailand, and Egypt. The UK’s helicopters will be the first of the type constructed at Yeovil, and given the small number currently planned Leonardo will likely be hedging their bets on attracting more orders which can sustain the plant in the longer term.
A spacious interior can accommodate up to 16-19 troops, depending on the amount of kit being carried, and provision for external weapon wings allow the helicopter to be fitted with a variety of payloads including rocket pods, Hellfire missiles, or external fuel tanks. Given the new interest in low-cost anti-drone munitions, it is conceivable that the UK might seek to integrate APKWS guided rockets or even the MBDA Martlet lightweight multirole missile onto the helicopters.
Designed to Survive
The #AW149 is fitted with a range of crew served, and external precision weapons enabling the aircraft to protect itself and support troops on the ground whilst conducting operations. #Yeovil #NMH #HomeofBritishHelicoptershttps://t.co/q1xlSBd1H9 pic.twitter.com/GPqtVDNihe
— Leonardo in the UK 🇬🇧 (@Leonardo_UK) April 18, 2024
Although it itself was developed from a civilian product, the larger and longer range AW149 also spawned a civilian-focused derivative of its own in the AW189. The AW189 has, interestingly, been ordered by a number of armed forces and is also one of the helicopter types contracted by the UK’s HM Coastguard for search and rescue.
