The UK will deploy Royal Air Force (RAF) Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters to Cyprus this summer to backfill for the service’s Puma HC2s, which will be retired next month.
Secretary of State for Defence John Healey announced in November last year that the 17-strong Puma fleet would be withdrawn from service in March when their current support contract expires.
Although the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has ordered six Airbus Helicopters H145 Jupiter HC2s to replace the Pumas in Brunei and Cyprus, their sole remaining deployments, they will not be delivered before 2026.
At the time, Healey said “during this short gap in capability”, the MoD would employ “a commercial or military solution” for firefighting missions in Cyprus.
But the MoD confirms that Chinooks will be used for that role during the coming fire season, although it did not disclose how many aircraft will be deployed or for how long.
At least two Jupiters have arrived at Airbus Helicopters’ UK site at Oxford airport for modification, with a third example due soon, analysis of flight-tracking and Civil Aviation Authority data reveals.
Ironically, the Pumas were only pressed into service in Brunei and Cyprus due to the retirement of the Bell 212/412s previously used in those roles.
All three types – plus the AS365 Dauphins operated by the Army Air Corps for domestic special forces support – are supposed to be replaced through the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) procurement.
Negotiations between Leonardo Helicopters, the sole remaining bidder in the competition, and the MoD are continuing. If successfully concluded, a contract for the airframer’s AW149 would be awarded in the third quarter. However, the procurement could still be scuppered by an ongoing defence and security review.
An official, speaking under Chatham House rules on 25 February at Defence IQ’s International Military Helicopter 2025 conference, said the NMH competion was proceeding in line with the latest schedule: “It is still in a delicate phase but we are getting close now.”
“We are currently in negotiations with the MoD. Discussions are positive and we are confident about the progress being made as we work through the process,” Leonardo Helicopters adds.
Additionally, the company has appointed Nigel Colman as UK managing director, effective 3 March, to replace Adam Clarke. Colman, a former commander of the UK’s Joint Helicopter Command, left the RAF in 2023.
Elsewhere, another of the NMH bidders is also looking for a new head, with Lenny Brown having decided to step down from his post as managing director of Airbus Helicopters UK from 17 March.
Brown is leaving the business “to take up another opportunity” elsewhere in the aerospace industry.
The situation is a strange echo of 2022 when both companies replaced their then UK chiefs – Nick Whitney at Leonardo and Colin James at Airbus – within weeks of each other.
