Boeing and Airbus announced that they will join forces to submit the H175M to the UK’s Puma HC2 helicopter replacement competition: Boeing will provide crew training, support and maintenance services.
The world’s two largest aviation manufacturers compete strongly in many segments, but when the opportunity is significant (and the contract sufficiently juicy) they team up to improve their chances.
Thus, Boeing joins Babcock, Martin Baker, Scotland Spirit Aerosystems and Pratt & Whitney Canada in the consortium seeking to win the NMH (New Medium Helicopter) program, a contract worth around one billion pounds sterling for 44 aircraft.
Airbus Helicopters UK Managing Director Lenny Brown said, «Boeing Defence UK is highly respected in this country for its support of the UK Chinook and Apache fleets. As a training services partner, it completes a strong lineup of top-tier UK-based aerospace partners that bring a guarantee of world-class service delivery to the UK Ministry of Defense for decades to come.»
«We are delighted to collaborate with Airbus and join their innovative team of aerospace leaders to meet the UK’s needs for new medium helicopters,» said Steve Burnell, Managing Director, Boeing Defence UK.
«Our local team has supported the U.K. armed forces for decades, sustaining hundreds of jobs across the country in helicopter training. As a member of the H175M Task Force, we look forward to leveraging our existing expertise to ensure the availability and readiness of the UK’s future helicopter fleets,» he added.
New Medium Helicopter program contenders
In November 2022, the UK selected four contenders for the final phase of the NMH program:
- Airbus, with the H175M
- Leonardo with the AW149
- Lockheed Martin with the S-70M Black Hawk
Boeing with the MH-139 Grey Wolf, militarized version of the AW 139.
It is not surprising that Boeing is competing with a helicopter and at the same time a division of Boeing Defense UK is part of another contender: it will not be the first nor the last case in which manufacturers try to cover all bases.
