Medium Helicopter Program Sees Addition of Boeing as Training Partner

Boeing has joined the UK's H175M Task Force, aiming to meet the New Medium Helicopter program requirement.

Boeing will take up a position as a "training services partner", leaving other companies in the fold to take up manufacturing and development roles. Boeing Defence UK will provide aircrew, groundcrew, and maintenance training should the 'super-medium class' Airbus H175M be selected. The team hopes that the H175M is selected to replace the Airbus Puma HC2. 

If selected, the H175M will be built in the Welsh town of Broughton, with a number of local suppliers chipping in to assist with the program. Martin Baker will provide troop seating and cabin integration, Spirit AeroSystems the development of design and manufacturing, with Pratt & Whitney Canada providing their PT6C-67E turboshaft engines.

“Boeing Defence UK is rightly respected in this country for its long-standing support of the British Chinook and Apache fleets," said Managing Director of Airbus Helicopters in the UK, Lenny Brown. "As training services partner it completes a rock-solid line-up of UK-based first tier aerospace partners who bring a guarantee of world-class service provision to the UK Ministry of Defence for decades to come.”

“We are delighted to collaborate with Airbus and join their innovative team of aerospace leaders to meet the UK’s New Medium Helicopter requirement”, said Steve Burnell, managing director of Boeing Defence UK. “Our local team has supported the British armed forces for decades, sustaining hundreds of jobs across the country in helicopter training. As a member of the H175M Task Force, we look forward to leveraging our current expertise to ensure availability and readiness for the UK’s future helicopter fleets."

FMI: www.airbus.com