EADS North America yesterday delivered the 50th UH-72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopter to the Army.
This delivery marks another on-time milestone in the acquisition and fielding of the UH-72A to satisfy the Army’s Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) requirement. The Army plans to acquire 345 Lakotas through 2016. With a recent order for 39 aircraft, the Army has now confirmed orders for 123 UH-72As. The UH-72A is used for missions ranging from homeland security and drug interdiction, to support, logistics and medical evacuation flights (MEDEVAC).
The 50th and 51st UH-72As were delivered to the Eastern Army National Guard Aviation Training Site (EAATS) from American Eurocopter’s Mississippi production facility, where the Light Utility Helicopter, based on Eurocopter’s EC145, is built.
Based in Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa., the EAATS may operate as many as 18 UH-72As in the qualification of Army and Army National Guard aviators on the new rotorcraft.
These were the third and fourth Lakotas provided to the EAATS unit, which received its initial two UH-72As in June and July 2008.
“The assignment of the 50th aircraft to the Army National Guard is particularly significant because the Guard will be the primary operator of UH-72As within the U.S. Army,” Ralph Crosby, the chairman and CEO of EADS North America, said. “We are proud to be a partner with the Army in modernizing its rotary-wing fleet. Our primary goal is to meet–and exceed–our commitments on this key program.”
The UH-72A first entered service in 2007. To date, deliveries have gone to Army and Army National Guard units in California, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Virginia and Pennsylvania.
The new helicopter allows the retirement of aging Army National Guard OH-58 and UH-1 rotary-wing aircraft. Lakota deliveries to the active component of the Army free UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters for assignment to warfighting missions.
The Lakota fleet has an operational availability rate of over 90 percent, with more than 7,000 flight hours accumulated so far in U.S. Army operations.
In addition to their continental U.S. basing assignments, overseas deployments of UH-72As are anticipated with the U.S. Army in Europe, Japan and the Pacific region.