Up to 3,000 skilled manufacturing jobs could be at risk unless the Ministry of Defence moves quickly to place a long-delayed helicopter order, according to industry sources close to the programme.
Workers at Leonardo Helicopters’s Yeovil site in Somerset, the UK’s last remaining military helicopter factory, fear the company could close the facility as early as the end of March if the government fails to commit to a new contract within weeks.
Leonardo, the Italian-owned defence group that acquired the former Westland Helicopters business, is the sole bidder for the £1bn “new medium helicopter” programme, which was launched by the Ministry of Defence in February 2024. However, prolonged delays in awarding the contract have cast doubt over the future of the site.
Industry insiders say the bid’s “best and final offer” expires in March, with pricing dependent on complex global supply-chain commitments. One source said Leonardo would have needed confirmation by January to meet production and delivery timelines. Any delay beyond March risks forcing the entire procurement process to restart.
“It’s critical at the moment,” the source said. “If this slips past March, the price and the bid itself may no longer be valid.”
The issue has escalated in recent months. In November, Leonardo’s chief executive, Roberto Cingolani, told investors that talks were under way with the UK government to strengthen collaboration. In December, he wrote directly to Defence Secretary John Healey, warning that delays could lead Leonardo to scrap future investment in the UK – including in its electronics and cyber security operations.
Cingolani described the medium helicopter contract as a “cornerstone” of Leonardo’s UK strategy, adding that any cancellation or further delay would trigger a “reevaluation” of the company’s presence in Britain.
The standoff comes despite repeated ministerial commitments to increase defence spending in response to heightened geopolitical risks, particularly Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. Defence suppliers have grown increasingly frustrated by the absence of a long-promised defence investment plan, which had been expected before Christmas.
Unite has warned that uncertainty is eroding confidence among the workforce. Sharon Graham, the union’s general secretary, said employees in Yeovil were being left in limbo while the government delayed decisions.
“Leonardo workers are looking over their shoulders wondering where the next order will come from,” she said. “This uncertainty must end, and the government should confirm the medium-lift helicopter order now.”
The Ministry of Defence said it was working on a new defence investment plan and highlighted record levels of planned spending. A spokesperson said the government would commit £270bn to defence over the course of the current parliament, describing the inherited defence programme as “overcommitted and underfunded”.
For Yeovil, however, the timeline is far shorter. Without swift action, industry figures warn that Britain risks losing not just thousands of skilled jobs, but its last domestic capability to build military helicopters – a blow that would be difficult, if not impossible, to reverse.
