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News > EC145/UH-72A helicopter platform displays abilities for key U.S. Army armed aerial scout performance requirement
EC145/UH-72A helicopter platform displays abilities for key U.S. Army armed aerial scout performance requirement
July 29, 2009
A demonstrator helicopter based on the EC145/UH-72A platform has completed a series of successful “high/hot” flight demonstrations, underscoring the ability of this rotary-wing aircraft – which will serve as the basis for EADS North America’s offering for the U.S. Army’s armed aerial scout requirement – to meet the military service’s demanding high altitude/high temperature mission profiles.
The demonstrator helicopter successfully hovered-out-of-ground-effect at a density altitude of 6,000 feet and 95 deg. F – meeting a key Army armed scout performance requirement. |
Operating from Alamosa, Colorado with a takeoff elevation of more than 7,500 feet and carrying a simulated 2,300-pound Mission Equipment Package, the helicopter – to be known as the Armed Scout 645 once missionized – successfully hovered-out-of-ground-effect at a density altitude of 6,000 feet and 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
This requirement was included in the Army’s Sources Sought document issued in October 2008 and reflects the evolving armed aerial scout mission environments faced by U.S. forces operating in theaters such as Afghanistan. The demonstration flight not only validated the platform’s high/hot hover capability, but also confirmed tail rotor authority and controllability with the simulated Mission Equipment Package payload in hover-out-of-ground-effect conditions.
A subsequent flight with the simulated payload validated the aircraft’s long-range endurance capability – completing a 2 hour, 30 minute flight with a 35-minute fuel reserve.
The Armed Scout 645 will be built at American Eurocopter’s Columbus, Mississippi facility where the Army’s UH-72As currently are produced.
The military service has ordered 128 UH-72As, with plans to acquire a total of 345 through 2016. To date, 72 UH-72As have been delivered to the Army – all on or ahead of schedule. This fleet maintains an operational availability rate higher than 90 percent, underscoring the readiness of these rotary-wing aircraft to perform their varied assignments.
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