UK awards Leonardo $1.3B AW149 New Medium Helicopter contract
The new AW149 fleet is desperately needed to plug a rotary capability gap left by retirement of the Puma HC2 fleet in March 2025.
The new AW149 fleet is desperately needed to plug a rotary capability gap left by retirement of the Puma HC2 fleet in March 2025.
Delivery of the first batch of C-27 J MPAs to the Royal Saudi Naval Forces is expected to commence in 2029.
"The parties will now move into the next stage of discussions, intended to achieve a procurement contract signing soon,” said Italian defense firm Leonardo.
The radar is expected to enter service at the end of the decade, said BAE, with the new contract coming after several years of development and testing.
Transatlantic political turbulence could disrupt orders from European customers for US defense equipment over the long term, but if the last year is anything to go by, business is likely to be relatively predictable.
The firm, a joint venture between Germany's Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and France's Nexter, amassed an order intake of €11.2 billion ($13.1 billion) in 2024.
With Flight School Next, the Army is looking to shake up the way it acquires both the aircraft and the curriculum.
As part of the settlement, Norway will also return all 14 of its NH90 aircraft to NHI, alongside spare parts, tools and mission equipment.
"Project Bromo is a sovereignty play," Caleb Henry, research director at Quilty Space, told Breaking Defense.
Stakes in the joint entity, planned to be operational from 2027 once regulatory approval is secured, are split with Airbus retaining a majority of 35 percent, while Leonardo and Thales will each be allocated 32.5 percent stakes.
The solicitation for fiscal 2026 through 2033 will be to “design the Future X-Band Radar (FXR), and to build, integrate, and test FXR Engineering Development Models (EDMs) and deliver multiple low-rate initial production (LRIP) units,” according to a Navy notice.
Despite the current drama in the rival FCAS program, Leonardo UK's Andrew Howard said he expects FCAS to deliver a "very good capability."
The British military appears to be in the market for “disposable” one-way drones that can carry electronic warfare (EW) and kinetic payloads, “signature managed” aircraft that could offer “reduced detectability” against integrated air defense systems and “autonomous solutions.”
The deal, which is expected to close by first quarter 2026, consolidates some of Italy’s defense sector, at a time when European defense spending is on the rise.