UK Rotorcraft Capabilities Challenged by Lack of Local Opportunities

摘要

While Britain's combat air capability has been buoyed by the Tempest initiative, there is so far little sign of a similar strategy for the country's helicopter industry. Since the 1950s, Britain has both domestically and jointly developed rotorcraft that achieved export success across the world. Leonardo Helicopters, which inherited the legacy of Westland through its takeover in 2004, has continued that success but says it needs movement on new UK government programs to ensure a positive future. The company's facility in Yeovil, England, builds the AW159 Wildcat naval helicopter and the three-engine AW101 transport rotorcraft-called the Merlin in UK service-and performs upgrades for both domestic and international customers. Orders for the two UK-built helicopters have diminished in recent years, however, particularly facing stiff competition from U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and platforms such as the NHIndustries NH90. Furthermore, opportunities from the UK military have become less frequent; the upgrade for the UK's Boeing Apache fleet was handed to Boeing after the British Army decided on the FMS AH-64E, a deal announced in 2016.