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The UH-72A Lakota program: “A success of the first order”

March 4, 2010

American Eurocopter’s role in the highly successful UH-72A Lakota program was spotlighted by top U.S. Army officials at today’s 100th delivery for this new Light Utility Helicopter.

The Lakota was called “a success of the first order” by Brig. Gen. William T. Crosby, the Program Executive Officer of U.S. Army Aviation, who added the UH-72A already has become a cornerstone of the service’s aviation fleet.

“I am extremely proud of everyone on the team that developed this machine, and I congratulate all of you for the first 100 deliveries of the 345 new aircraft the U.S. Army is planning to buy,” Crosby said during the handover ceremony at American Eurocopter’s UH-72A production facility in Mississippi.  “I am pleased to report our units have maintained a near zero mishap rate while achieving an operational availability rate of over 90 percent in the course of flying tens of thousands of hours with the Lakota.”

American Eurocopter is responsible for the UH-72A’s production, which is performed at a purpose-built extension of the company’s Mississippi rotary-wing center of excellence – located adjacent to Mississippi’s Golden Triangle Regional Airport.  In addition to building the Lakota for program prime contractor EADS North America, American Eurocopter also provides training for Army pilots and maintainers, which is performed at its Grand Prairie, Texas headquarters facility.

Crosby was joined by other Army officers present at the 100th delivery ceremony for an update visit of the UH-72A’s final assembly line at Columbus, which has provided all 100 Lakotas on time and within budget.

“I was pleased to observe the high-tech processes involved in the UH-72A production here,” he said.  “The employees at this facility have brought new and improved solutions to many of the problems we’ve faced across the industrial base of our helicopter industry.  They have come up with answers, and have shared them with us in the Army.”

Interest in the Lakota has been shown by other countries for potential foreign military sales, Crosby told attendees at the delivery ceremony. “In addition to having acquitted itself extremely well even in the most distant parts of our land, I am pleased that many other countries have also indicated an interest in this airframe,” he explained.  “When a system performs as well as the Lakota – and with the excellent reliability it is providing – the reputation spreads by word-of-mouth.”

American Eurocopter President and CEO Marc Paganini recalled the Lakota program’s aggressive schedule, which enabled the first UH-72A to be delivered in December 2006 – only months after the Army’s Light Utility Helicopter award in June of the same year.  

“We built this new plant in less than one year, we’ve successfully transferred the full production line from Germany, we’re hiring and training more than 300 employees, and our team has trained over 500 U.S. Army pilots and 200 of the service’s mechanics,” Paganini said.   “With the Lakota fleet having already flown more than 25,000 hours, American Eurocopter and EADS North America take great pride in supporting our armed forces.”

In addition to the UH-72A’s deployment within the United States for homeland security, medical evacuation, search and rescue, support and transport missions, the Lakota also has shown its capabilities in disaster relief missions following the Haiti earthquake earlier this year.

Col. L. Neil Thurgood, the U.S. Army’s Light Utility Helicopter Project Manager, said the UH-72A’s flight performance capabilities have been particularly appreciated by pilots and crews during these relief missions, along with the aircraft’s twin-engine safety.   In addition, the Lakota’s state-of avionics suite – which includes radios that allow communications with civilian agencies – have significantly facilitated the coordination in a situation where many participants are involved.

• See the overview article for additional information on today’s milestone delivery.

• Our “walkaround” photo feature details the UH-72A Lakota’s expanding mission applications.

View the Feature archive.

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