After reading the Flight Global article which triggered the Chinook/RAF Café with exhibits thread I noticed an article regarding Puma replacement
UK keeps options open for Puma replacement, but deadline will be too early for FVL
Apologies for the length of the following quotes - I don't have time to precis acurately.
The UK is unlikely to replace its fleet of Airbus Helicopters Puma HC2s with a high-speed platform from the USA’s Future Vertical Lift (FVL) programme due to timing issues, but nonetheless continues to assess that effort – and a separate NATO-led initiative – against its longer-term requirements.
While the UK believes that “there is a requirement for a medium aircraft in the future”, the 23 Pumas operated by the Royal Air Force are due for retirement by 2025, says Colonel Paul Morris, assistant head of plans, capability air manouevre for the British Army.But that timeframe is likely to be too tight to dovetail with the US Army’s FVL effort, which foresees service entry of a new rotorcraft under its Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) programme – either the Bell V-280 Valor or Sikorsky-Boeing SB-1 Defiant – around 2030.
“We don’t believe that FLRAA will come on line rapidly enough to replace the capability currently delivered by the Puma,” Morris told the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Next-Generation Rotorcraft Conference on 20 January.
While the exact timeline has still to be decided, “suffice to say that they just don’t match in terms of the first entry into service on the other side of the pond and our own requirement to replace medium”.
While the Puma’s out-of-service date could be extended, says Morris, obsolescence issues will become more of a problem, despite it remaining a “capable aircraft”.But that timeframe is likely to be too tight to dovetail with the US Army’s FVL effort, which foresees service entry of a new rotorcraft under its Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) programme – either the Bell V-280 Valor or Sikorsky-Boeing SB-1 Defiant – around 2030.
“We don’t believe that FLRAA will come on line rapidly enough to replace the capability currently delivered by the Puma,” Morris told the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Next-Generation Rotorcraft Conference on 20 January.
While the exact timeline has still to be decided, “suffice to say that they just don’t match in terms of the first entry into service on the other side of the pond and our own requirement to replace medium”.
While the Puma’s out-of-service date could be extended, says Morris, obsolescence issues will become more of a problem, despite it remaining a “capable aircraft”.
Lieutenant Commander Andrew White, ... holding a post in the UK’s capability air manoeuvre body, told the conference that any interim Puma replacement would be expected to have a service life of around 20 years.
On that basis “the UK would be looking again around 2045”. If the service life of the Merlin fleet was extended, that would be retired around 2040.
“From the mid-2030s to 2040 there is definitely a UK requirement on two fronts,” he says.