Luke Pollard

I thank the hon. Member for Yeovil (Adam Dance) for this urgent question and thank you, Mr Speaker, for allowing me to provide an update on the current status of the Ministry of Defence’s new medium helicopter procurement. Earlier this afternoon, I spoke with the CEO of Leonardo UK and the managing director of Leonardo Helicopters to continue our conversations around NMH exports and autonomous helicopters, and stressed that Leonardo remains an important strategic partner for the MOD. In fact, I had to leave that meeting early to get to this UQ. It is something that remains on my priority list. The NMH programme was first announced in March 2021 by the previous Government, with competition opening nearly three years later in February 2024. The Government will make a final decision on the award of the NMH contract through the wider defence investment plan. As the Defence Secretary has said in this House, we are working flat out to deliver the DIP, which will deliver the best kit and technology into the hands of our frontline forces and, importantly, will invest in and grow the UK economy. It will be published as soon as possible and is backed by the Government’s largest sustained increase in defence investment since the end of the cold war, spending £270 billion on defence in this Parliament alone.