In a statement, Wilkinson said the funds needed for the new helicopters placed a “disproportionate” financial burden on smaller forces that rarely made use of them.
“I cannot be associated with a decision which, in my view, risks representing a serious misuse of public money at a time when policing must be focused on efficiency and modernisation,” he said.
Wilkinson said across the area he represented, the cost to police for planes, helicopters and their bases was £6.8m for the last financial year.
The spending is split between Gloucestershire Police, Avon and Somerset, Wiltshire, Devon and Cornwall and Dorset Police – with Wiltshire Police contributing £595,000.