European Sovereignty Monitor

Defence and space

UK awards Leonardo GBP 1 billion contract for 23 AW149 helicopters

The UK Ministry of Defence awarded Leonardo UK a GBP 1 billion contract for 23 AW149 helicopters under the New Medium Helicopter programme, replacing the retired Puma fleet and moving AW149 export production to Leonardo's Yeovil site.

Verified AI-drafted UK government (gov.uk) press release, 2 March 2026

What it does not test. Does not establish that any helicopter has been delivered; production and rollout follow over subsequent years.

How this item counts. Towards autonomy: it changes who made the parts. Binding 2 of 3 (agreed or funded), scale 2 of 3 (medium), Verified counts in full: weight +4 of 36 possible. GBP1bn contract moves AW149 export production to UK (Yeovil) site. European Sovereignty Index

How this item was made. Drafted by an AI system (Claude (Anthropic)) from the source cited above and published under the editor’s responsibility without a person reading it first. How the record is made

What the tags mean: VerifiedReportedAI-draftedAI-drafted, editor-readHuman-writtenWhat the tags mean

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