UK Defence Command Paper: RAF, Army battlefield helicopter recapitalisation plans laid out

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has laid out its plans for recapitalising its rotary-winged battlefield lift in the mid-2020s.

With the Puma HC2 slated for retirement in 2025, the UK is investing in a replacement for this and a number of other helicopter types with a single platform. (Crown Copyright)

As noted in the Defence Command Paper, published on 22 March, a number of existing helicopter types, including the Westland-Aerospatiale SA 330E Puma HC2, will be consolidated into a single platform. This is on top of the previously announced procurement of the Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian gunship, which has already begun, and plans to replace older model Boeing Chinook helicopters with new MH-47G-standard machines.

“The [Royal Air Force] is retiring its oldest CH-47 Chinook helicopters and investing, alongside the US, in newer variants of this operationally proven aircraft, enhancing capability, efficiency, and interoperability. Our AH-64 Apache attack helicopters will be upgraded to a state-of-the-art capability by 2025. Investment in a new medium-lift helicopter in the mid-2020s will enable a consolidation of the army’s [and air force’s] disparate fleet of medium-lift helicopters from four platform types to one, including the replacement of Puma,” the paper said.

Beyond the Puma, the ‘disparate fleet of medium-lift helicopters’ were not individually identified in the report. However, older types due to be retired shortly include the Army Air Corps’ Aerospatiale Gazelle and Bell 212, as well as the Royal Air Force’s (RAF’s) Bell 412.

News of the proposed investment in a new medium-lift helicopter in the mid-2020s comes weeks after Janes