Minister visits Leonardo after £1bn deal secured

Defence minister Luke Pollard has visited an aerospace company, officially awarding a £1bn contract to build military helicopters.

The deal will see Leonardo Helicopters build 23 new medium helicopters (NMHs) for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and has secured its future in Yeovil, Somerset.

It comes as two Wildcat helicopters from nearby Yeovilton are being sent to the Eastern Mediterranean due to the US-Israel war with Iran.

Speaking at the Leonardo site earlier, Pollard said: "We wanted to get this contract right. This is a big win for Yeovil. It's also a big investment."

The agreement - confirmed by Treasury sources on Friday - has secured the future of the Yeovil facility, sustaining 3,300 jobs, including 650 people working directly on NMHs.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the agreement paved the way for future export orders of the AW149 helicopter to be built in the UK, which could lead to the creation of 600 jobs.

"It [the contract] secures the jobs here and provides the opportunity to create even more," said Pollard.

He said the new jobs could be created by agreeing to build expert versions of the helicopters at the site, as well as future uncrewed helicopters, which are currently being developed.

"We took our time to get it right but we've concluded it in a way that supports our national security," Pollard added.

Leonardo's chief executive Roberto Cingolani previously said the factory's future would be at risk if it was not awarded the government contract, leaving thousands of workers in limbo.

A decision on the contract had been due in the autumn, but it was delayed by the government. The previous tender expired on 1 March.

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