On May 18, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) issued a contract notice to launch the next phase of the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) procurement program. With the NMH program, the MoD is aiming to select a medium-lift helicopter to replace four existing rotorcraft types. The MoD invited manufacturers to express their interest in the program by June 20, following which it will ask qualified candidates to submit formal bids later this year. The NMH program is expected to be valued at up to ￡1.2B ($1.48B), with the MoD purchasing as many as 44 aircraft. The MoD formally launched the NMH program on Nov. 11, 2021, inviting potential bidders and suppliers to attend a market interest day later that month. The contract is expected to run for seven years with the initial deliveries estimated to begin in 2024 or 2025.The MoD announced in February 2021 that it would seek a replacement for the Royal Air Force's (RAF) fleet of 23 Westland-Aerospatiale SA 330E Puma HC2, which the RAF introduced in 1971 (see "The RAF Puma Replacement Looms," Vertiflite, Jan/Feb 2022). In the UK Defence Command Paper, published in March 2021, the MoD said it would also retire the RAF's Bell 412 Griffin and Army Air Corps' Bell 212, as well as the UK Special Force's Airbus AS365N3 Dauphin.
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