BOSSES at a helicopter manufacturer fear they could be forced to cut up to 100 jobs if defence chiefs decide to ditch a £300m contract they are working on.

Directors at Eurocopter, based at Oxford Airport, in Kidlington, admitted there is now a 50/50 chance of the contract to overhaul and upgrade 30 Puma helicopters for the RAF being scrapped, even though work has already started.

Now they are warning not only is 50 per cent of the 200-strong highly skilled workforce at risk, but £100m of the cash has already been spent on design work and buying materials for which they would expect to be refunded out of the public purse.

There is currently a question-mark over the future of RAF Benson, where the Pumas are based.

Eurocopter director of Government and public relations Tim MacMahon said: “We find it incomprehensible this should even be put up for potential consultation.

“The forces in Afghanistan have a crying need for more helicopters and no-one else could do what we are doing in the same time.”

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) faces having its £36.9bn annual budget cut by between 10 and 20 per cent as part of the Whitehall funding cuts and has launched the Strategic Defence and Security Review, the findings of which are due to be published next month.

A leaked report in August claimed the Puma fleet faced “deletion”, while a new contract for 62 Lynx Wildcat helicopters could be scrapped and the Navy and RAF’s Sea Kings helicopters could be phased out.

Mr MacMahon added: “We have had meetings with the defence strategy group at the highest level which this week takes its recommendations to the National Security Council, so we are in a critical phase. The Cabinet will then decide whether the programme sinks or swims.”

The Puma fleet, used to transport up to 12 troops at a time and extract them from hostile situations, has seen service in Belize, Northern Ireland and Iraq.

But it is now 40 years old and in need of a major overhaul including the installation of more powerful engines to cope with the heat and high altitude of Afghanistan.

After winning the contract a year ago, work has now started on the first two Pumas and is expected to ramp up in the near future, with one helicopter arriving in Kidlington every three weeks.

Suggestions the Puma fleet could be axed have led to fears RAF Benson may be mothballed, sparking more job losses and causing a major blow for the economy.

An MoD spokesman said: “The National Security Council is considering options for the future as part of the ongoing Strategic Defence and Security Review.

“Decisions will be announced in October and until then it would be inappropriate to comment on speculation.”