Overview
- The Ministry of Defence announced Wednesday a three-year, £879 million award to Boeing Defence UK to maintain the Army’s AH-64E Apaches and the RAF’s Chinook heavy‑lift helicopters.
- Brought together under the new Rotary Wing Enterprise, the two fleets will share a single support model designed to reduce duplication and deliver better value for taxpayers.
- Boeing will provide maintenance, technical services, logistics and training for aircrew and maintainers to keep both aircraft mission‑ready.
- The deal supports more than 1,000 UK jobs, including about 700 at Boeing sites and around 500 across the supply chain with roughly 300 at StandardAero, and officials plan up to 50 apprenticeships over three years.
- The award is the first contract issued under the Rotary Wing Enterprise and follows March’s £1 billion order for new medium‑lift helicopters from Leonardo, signaling a broader effort to strengthen the UK defence industrial base.