The Royal Air Force (RAF) in the UK announced that they plan to order for six H145 helicopters from Airbus under a sole supplier agreement.  Assuming the announcement progresses to an actual order, the aircraft will be operated in Brunei and Cyprus, replacing Bell 212 and 412 (Griffin) aircraft respectively.  At present there are RAF Puma aircraft substituting at each location.

The tender summary states they are seeking six aircraft, and three years of “technical support” for each.  On further investigation, HeliHub.com can reveal more details than have been previously availalbe – the tender includes additional role equipment, 3-years’ worth of initial engineering and technical support to the aircraft once delivered, training military aircrew to fly the H145, additional test and evaluation activities, and VAT.

The headline value of the tender is stated as £140 Million, but clearly this is much higher than the description given above.  The list price of the H145 is around £8.5M (US$10.6M), it is fair to assume that an agreed price for six would attract a small discount so the aircraft would be priced at around £50M (US$62M).

“3-years’ worth of initial engineering and technical support to the aircraft once delivered” is not a significant value, as new aircraft would be most unlikely to have reached any meaningful overhaul requirement in that time in the roles they will be put to in Brunei and Cyprus (perhaps 300-350 hours per airframe per year).  It is thus unlikely that three years would cost as much as £2.0M per airframe, even allowing for the most pessimistic economic view of inflation.

The definition of “training military aircrew to fly the H145, additional test and evaluation activities” is not detailed further.  Training would be type-training for existing proficient pilots, and the test/evaluation activities would be based around the role equipment fitted.

That may bring the total to around £70-75M, and VAT would add a further 20% on the total – thus £84-90 Million – a huge gap from the stated target figure of £140M

Our analysis struggles to reach anywhere near the headline figure without there being some other aspects not currently detailed.  It is feasible, perhaps, that the training aspect may include the procurement and installation of an H145 simulator at Airbus Helicopters new HQ at Oxford Airport.  Similarly, the “technical support” may involve building up a significant spares holding for expected future requirements.

On querying the tender value, UK MoD is at the very early stages of negotiation with Airbus, but advised HeliHub.com that they plan to ensure that Value for Money is demonstrated, against the Government’s Single Source Contract Regulations under the Defence Reform Act 2014, before deciding whether to proceed to Contract Award.

In UK military service, the Airbus H145 is known as “Jupiter”. There are seven such aircraft – known as Jupiter HT.1 – already in service at the Defence Helicopter Flying School, an outsourced training unit run by Ascent Flight Training, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Babcock International.  The HT.1 is based on the BK117D2 four-blade H145.

The new acquisition plans for six will be fitted out for different work, and be known as Jupiter HC.2.  This model is based on the BK117D3 five-blade H145.

Assuming this program goes ahead, the six will be Civil Operated Military Registered Aircraft – managed by an external supplier, in the same way that the Bell 212/412s in Brunei/Cyprus were in years past.

We understand that UK MoD are assessing options, including competition, for the follow-on support post the initial 3-year period which would be provided as part of the initial contract.