The UK New Medium Helicopter is planned to replace a number of in-service helicopters. Credit: UK MoD / Crown copyright

The UK government has gone on the record to state that only Leonardo Helicopters has submitted a tender for the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) programme, intended to deliver a fleet of around 14 platforms to replace a range of outgoing rotary wing aircraft.

Responding to a parliamentary query on 8 October 2024, Luke Pollard, Minister for the Armed Forces, confirmed that neither Airbus Helicopters UK nor Lockheed Martin UK had elected to submit a tender, with the only response coming from Leonardo Helicopters UK.

“The New Medium Helicopter competition remains sensitive, and the evaluation and approval process needs to complete before further details, including aircraft numbers, can be confirmed,” Pollard said.

The prospect of a single tender submitted for the NMH, in what is supposed to be a competitive acquisition, has raised questions over the programme. Other competitive acquisitions in the naval sector, such as with the Type 31 frigate, have had to be restarted due to an insufficient number of compliant bids. 

European shipbuilder Fincantieri has delivered the fourth multipurpose combat ship (PPA) to the Italian Navy. Known as the Giovanni delle Bande Nere, the vessel is the first of two units in the “full” militarised version – one of three PPA configurations required.

The fully militarised warship – which includes anti-air, surface and submarine capabilities, is named after Ludovico di Giovanni de’ Medici, known as Giovanni delle Bande Nere, a leading figure in Renaissance Italy.

Italy’s contract stipulated seven ships and in-service support for ten years in a deal worth €3.5bn ($3.89bn). The Navy now has four PPA units so far as the new fleet is set to replace the country’s ageing patrol boats, corvettes, and frigates acquired from as early as the 1980s.

Different combat system configurations are foreseen: starting from a “light” variant, related to the patrol task, integrated with self-defense capabilities, up to a “complete” standard, equipped with maximum defence capacity.

All seven Italian PPAs are built at the Integrated Shipyard of Riva Trigoso and Muggiano with deliveries scheduled until 2026. 

The British Army looks set complete a surge of M270 multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) in its inventory before the end of the decade, with the revelation that dozens of additional modernised launchers are being acquired to more than double the future fleet. 

Currently, the British Army maintains 29 M270 MLRS platforms, which fire the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) munition to provide long-range mobile fires capability out to distances of 70km.

It was reported in September 2022 that the UK was seeking to acquire additional launchers from allies, including mothballed vehicles in museums or acting as gate guards. However, Global Defence Technology can reveal that an additional 31 M270 MLRS launch vehicles have now been acquired for use by the British Army, recovered from various disposal activities as well as other nations’ fleets.

Included in those were three MLRS launchers promised by Norway to the UK as part of a wider trilateral security package with Ukraine. 

The KC-10 Extender aerial refuelling tanker has officially been retired from the US Air Force (USAF) after more than four decades of operational service.

The type was retired in a ceremony at Travis Air Force Base, with the aircraft being replaced in service by the newer KC-36A as the primary air refuelling tanker. As of September 2024, 88 KC-46s had been delivered. 

Entering service in 1981 as a derivative of the McDonnell Douglas DC-10, the KC-10 enabled USAF global power projection. Its primary mission was in-flight refuelling, but also provided airlift for personnel and equipment during overseas deployments.

The aircraft contributed to numerous military operations, including Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1991. The KC-10 and KC-135 tankers completed 51,700 refuelling missions during the Persian Gulf buildup process, delivering 125m gallons of fuel without a missed rendezvous.

The KC-10’s final destination will be the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. Known as ‘America’s Airpower Reservoir’, AMARG will provide parts reclamation and aircraft storage. 

Germany will send an additional 12 Panzerhaubitze 2000 (PzH 2000) 155mm self-propelled howitzers (SPH) to Ukraine over the next 15 months, boosting the number provided to Kyiv to 30 as Berlin continues its steady provision of military equipment to the embattled country.

Announced on 9 September 2024, the German government said it would continue to supply Ukraine on an “ongoing basis”, with a new security package planned to deliver six PzH 2000 SPHs before the end of 2024, with a further six following in 2025.

A spokesperson for the Federal Ministry of Defence subsequently informed Global Defence Technology that the 12 SPHs were obtained “from industry”, rather than being drawn from Bundeswehr’s inventory.

“The 12 [PzH 2000s] are in addition to the 18 PzH 2000 and 36 RCH155 already announced,” the spokesperson said.

Developed by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, the PzH 2000 SPH was first delivered to the German military in 1998, although the number in service has reduced to as low as eight units at present, according to analysis.