Britain is discussing how it saved domestic helicopter production through AW149 orders from Leonardo and what export advantages this will have. However, it has now been revealed that the first of them will arrive only in summer 2030.
Such timelines were named by the country's Ministry of Defence in response to a parliamentary question. New helicopter adoption is planned for January 2031, with deliveries continuing until fall 2033.
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It turns out that from the contract signed in early March 2026 for 23 AW149s for approximately $1.34 billion to first arrivals will be slightly more than four years. While completing the entire order will take over 7 years.
Such timelines are actually very easily explained by the fact that helicopters within the NMH program will be manufactured at the Yeovil plant. Recall this is the only full-cycle production facility for such aircraft in Britain.
Given the need to establish supply chains and organize work processes, the stated completion time makes sense. At the same time, 7 years waiting for just 23 aircraft genuinely sounds mediocre, especially if viewed from the perspective of ordering for Ukraine, which Defense Express previously considered.
It can be recalled that Poland also purchased AW149s, specifically 31 units with localization back in summer 2022. The first helicopter manufactured by local industry was received only in fall 2025, meaning in slightly more than 3 years from contract.
The Polish story also provides opportunity to look at single aircraft production timelines, as corresponding capabilities at the plant were opened in early June 2024. In other words, one helicopter actually took somewhere around nearly a year and a half, which is quite fast.
Naturally, Britain may have deeper localization requirements and certain local specifics requiring additional time for adaptation. However, the very fact of NMH program implementation is already important for the British, as the decision was delayed so long that Leonardo even threatened to curtail activities in the country.
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