Britain's last military helicopter factory in Yeovil, southwest England, could close due to a lack of new contracts, the Financial Times (FT) reported, citing Roberto Cingolani, chief executive of Italian military-industrial group Leonardo, which owns the factory.
“We can't subsidise Yeovil forever. We haven't received any contracts from the British government for 14 years,“ the businessman said. He warned that the company could be forced to close the plant, which employs approximately 3,300 people, if the UK government does not approve Leonardo’s bid to produce new helicopters to replace the Puma transport helicopters used by the Royal Air Force for more than 50 years.
Leonardo’s AW149 multi-role helicopter has become the only bidder in the tender for a 1 billion pound (1.3 billion USD) contract from the UK government in the summer of 2024. This spring, the company submitted its “best and final“ offer to the UK Ministry of Defence, but has not yet received a response. The MoD is expected to make a decision by the end of December. According to the publication, the UK Ministry of Defence is likely to abandon its plans to buy the new helicopters.