State and federal lawmakers joined leaders of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co., (EADS) North America and American Eurocopter calling on Congress to restore funding for the Army’s UH-72A Lakota helicopter for fiscal year 2014.
The rally took place at EADS North America’s American Eurocopter facility in Columbus, Miss., where the Lakota is produced for use in a wide range of roles by the Army, Army National Guard and Navy.
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| EADS-NA Lakota Rally Columbus, Miss. |
With a unit cost of $5.5 million, the Defense Department cites the Lakota as a model defense acquisition program and it is one of the most successful, cost-effective rotary wing aircraft procurement programs in history, the company said in a statement after the rally.
Proposed cuts in the 2014 budget submitted to Congress in April would reduce production of the Lakota in 2014-2015 by 31 fewer aircraft than the Army planned to buy. These cuts, which would result in negligible savings, would effectively end Lakota production by the end of 2014 and endanger the jobs of many of the more than 300 Columbus employees, more than half of whom are U.S. military veterans.
“As the Governor of Mississippi and Commander-in-Chief of the Mississippi Army National Guard, I firmly believe this proposal was made hastily during a time when our country is in dire financial crisis,” Gov. Phil Bryant (R) said at the American Eurocopter rally in Columbus. “I understand cuts must be made to alleviate some of the strain on the national debt, but it is counterproductive for the Department of Defense to cancel this cost-effective, successful program. Every helicopter produced here has been delivered on time and on budget.”
The Army wants 315 of the helicopters, of which 255 are on contract (Defense Daily, April 23).
Bryant said: “The program has proven invaluable to our national security, and the multi-mission capabilities offered by the Lakota only increase the demand for them around the country,” Bryant said.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), said, “American Eurocopter is an American success story that demonstrates Mississippi as a premier destination for high-tech manufacturing.”
Budget constraints in Washington have led to reductions in defense spending, said Wicker, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC). “However, I believe those cuts should be focused on wasteful spending and not on programs like the Lakota that are vital to national security.”
“At a time when the Department of Defense has hard spending choices to make, a program like the Lakota should be the last one singled out for reduction,” Rep. Gregg (R-Miss.) said. “The Lakota has the lowest cost to buy, own or operate of any military helicopter in production.”
Rep. Alan Nunnelee (R-Miss.) praised the American workforce that delivers the Lakota, pointing out that more than half of whom are veterans or currently serve in the National Guard or Reserves.
Nunnelee said, “The men and women who build the Lakota have honored all their commitments, in uniform and on the assembly line, and they have earned the opportunity to finish the job they’ve started.”
The Army, National Guard and Navy have applauded the capabilities and performance of the Lakota that has been delivered in different configurations for such things as border security, medical evacuation, cargo transport and pilot training.
“The Lakota continues to serve well in the role that the Army and National Guard envisioned for it, and it can easily and affordably be modified to serve in a wider range of missions, including forward deployment to combat zones,” said Sean O’Keefe, EADS North America Chairman and CEO. “Yet it costs a fraction as much to buy and to operate as any other aircraft available to meet the mission.”
“Our customer, the U.S. Army, is pleased with our work,” said Marc Paganini, president and chief executive of American Eurocopter. “We have provided an aircraft that performs every day with a more than 90 percent availability rate. That is unheard of across other Army aviation platforms. We recognize our employees for the outstanding work they do in equipping the men and women of the U.S. military with the best aircraft possible.”