Italy’s Leonardo given £165m UK military helicopter contract

Extension to deal over Royal Navy’s Merlin fleet comes as government plans to increase defence spending

The Italian defence company Leonardo has been given a £165m contract extension by the British government for its work maintaining the Royal Navy’s fleet of 54 Merlin helicopters, in an sign of the impact of the UK’s commitment to ramp up defence spending.

Keir Starmer’s government, which is planning to increase military spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2027, said the deal with Leonardo would help to bolster national security.