UK H135s mothballed

H135 UK military heli

A fleet of five £35.28 million H135s purchased by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) will no longer enter service in their procured role

The helicopters were ordered in January 2022, and were intended to replace the Army Air Corps’ ageing Gazelle helicopter fleet – due to be retired in 2024.

The aircraft were delivered over the course of last year – the first H135 arrived in April 2022, according to RotorTechUK – but have never been flown.

However, it has now been confirmed that the aircraft have now been mothballed, having never been phased in on the basis that they were no longer required for their original purpose.

A decision on their future is pending – Procurement Minister Alex Chalk told the UK parliament that ‘a decision is yet to be made on whether the aircraft will remain in service’.

An unnamed spokesperson speaking to the Daily Telegraph newspaper insisted that the purchase of the helicopters was ‘not wasteful procurement’, but that: “Operational circumstances had changed, and these H135s were no longer required for their procured role.”