The H175M super medium class aircraft on display at Airbus Helicopters production facility in Marignane, France (Breaking Defense)
BELFAST — The head of Airbus Helicopters says it is not closing any doors to industrial agreements, including the offer of in-country production, as the company bids to secure a launch customer order for the H175M helicopter in the wake of withdrawing from the UK’s New Medium Helicopter (NMH) acquisition.
Talks with a number of “other customers” besides London are underway, but an “industry footprint” for the super medium-class aircraft has still to be decided, said Airbus Helicopters CEO Bruno Even.
“We know that we are ready to propose this whole partnership with some of our customers, in order to produce this capability locally for them, but also to be able to export this new program to address the export opportunity,” he told reporters during an Airbus Helicopters press day held on Oct. 8 at the company’s production facility in Marignane, France. (Breaking Defense accepted travel and accommodation for the trip.)
He suggested the UK should “reflect” on the next steps for NMH, a competition for which Airbus had floated the H175M, but was thrown into disarray when both Airbus and Lockheed Martin pulled out of the competition on the day bids were due.
Pitching the AW149 multirole helicopter, Leonardo was the only manufacturer to table a bid, aligned to a request for 23 to 32 new rotorcraft to replace Airbus Puma HC2 aircraft.
Doubts continue to hang over the future of NMH, not only because the viability of a competition with a single manufacturer remains dubious, while the UK has put big ticket acquisition decisions on hold, until it completes a new strategic defense review.
Airbus had committed to standing up a H175M production facility in Broughton, Wales, but said at the time of walking away from NMH that its decision to do so was based on a review of requirements that left it “unable to formulate a responsible bid that would in parallel satisfy the customer’s requirements and provide adequate long-term returns to the business, while implying a reasonable prospect of winning.”
Even was more specific, remarking that the withdrawal directly related to Airbus judging that it could not put forward an offer that could meet performance, local content and budget requirements, while receiving “the right return for industry.”
He added, “It’s perhaps also a good opportunity [for the UK] to take time and to reflect on this requirement.” He did not rule out running again if, for example, the competition was to be recompeted.
“We will listen to the customers [UK] and what they have in mind for the next step and of course will come with the best proposal, depending on the evolution” of NMH, said Even.
Regarding development, the H175M is still at an “early stage” with decisions pending over which “configurations” and equipment to settle on, Olivier Pastore, head of the H175M programme, told Breaking Defense.
“The program itself is already de-risked in terms of [definition as] a pure military transport platform, because we already know the platform, but there are still open discussions and architecture [decisions] to be drawn” up for sensor integration, he explained.
The H175M will be initially designed to carry out troop transport and Search and Rescue (SAR) missions, before Airbus looks at adding more “complicated missions” such as Special Forces and medical evacuation, according to Pastore.
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