Three UH-72As for the U.S. Army were at center stage for the 100th Lakota delivery ceremony, which was attended by 600 guests – including Army program officials, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour and employees of American Eurocopter’s Columbus, Mississippi  facility, where the UH-72A is built.

The 100th UH-72A, which is painted in Army green, is illuminated by blue-colored lighting for the delivery ceremony.  This is one of 10 Lakotas that will be deployed to Germany with the U.S. Army’s Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC), becoming part of this unit’s Combat Training Center.  These aircraft will be used in the training of pilots for combat engagements, as well as for support missions that include carrying observers to oversee war game scenarios performed against “aggressor” aircraft. 

Some of the Lakotas to be operated by the U.S. Army’s Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Germany are being painted in an “opposing force” camouflage paint scheme.  Certain UH-72As will be outfitted with a mission equipment package that includes a Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System (MILES), a SMart On-Board Data Interface Module (SMODIM), and an electronic data manager.  The aircraft pictured here carries a temporary civilian registration number, as it has yet to be delivered to the U.S. Army. 

The delivery ceremony also included one of four Lakotas to be stationed on the Pacific Ocean’s Kwajalein Atoll for transport and support duties at the U.S. Army’s missile test range, replacing aging UH-1s.  Painted in high-visibility orange, the overwater equipment on these UH-72As will include skid-mounted floats, a life raft and jettisonable cockpit doors for rapid egress.