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EADS North America delivers 200th UH-72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopter to United States Army 0303121.
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World
Aviation Industry News - EADS Eurocopter |
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EADS
North America delivers 200th UH-72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopter to
United States Army |
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EADS North America delivered the 200th UH-72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) today to the U.S. Army during a ceremony at the company's American Eurocopter production facility in Columbus, Miss. |
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 Ceremony for the delivery of 200th UH-72A Lakota Light Utility heliopter to United States Army (Credit photo EADS America) |
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"Today marks another significant milestone for
the Lakota program - the only DoD program of this size and scope to
remain 100 percent on schedule and on budget," said Sean O’Keefe,
EADS North America Chairman and CEO. "The success of this program
stems from the strong partnership we’ve built with the Department
of Defense and the Army over the past seven years." |
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 The UH-72A Lakota is the best-value solution for the U.S. Army's new multi-mission Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) requirement. (Credit photo EADS America) |
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The
Lakotas equipped with the S&S Battalion MEP will be operated by Army
National Guard units across the country. The enhanced capability provided
by the MEP enables these units to seamlessly support state and local law
enforcement and federal homeland security agencies in responding to natural
disasters, law enforcement and border security operations. Currently 52 Lakota helicopters will be produced in the Army’s S&S Battalion configuration, in addition to 16 Lakota helicopters being retrofitted to this configuration. The total anticipated number of S&S Battalion Lakotas will grow to 99 aircraft. EADS North America has now delivered 200 UH-72A Lakotas to the U.S. Army, on time and within budget, along with five H-72A versions to the U.S. Navy for test pilot training. The S&S Battalion MEP, integrated by American Eurocopter, will expand the capabilities of the Army’s UH-72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopters, and reflects the platform’s adaptability for an increasing number of missions. The current total program of record calls for 346 UH-72A Lakotas to be delivered to the Army and Army National Guard through 2016, along with the five already delivered to the U.S. Navy. The UH-72A Lakota is manufactured at EADS North America’s American Eurocopter facility in Columbus, Miss. The S&S Battalion MEP was integrated and tested at American Eurocopter’s Grand Prairie, Texas facility. The S&S MEP contains a centerline electro-optical infrared (EO/IR) sensor, a 30 million candle power search light, analog/digital video downlink, rear observer’s console with a 15-inch display, an enhanced tactical communications suite, an onboard digital video recorder, 10.4-inch auxiliary displays for the pilot and co-pilot, and a video management system. The UH-72A is a Defense Acquisition Category (ACAT) I major defense acquisition program for the U.S. Defense Department, and it marked one of the most rapid introductions of a new aircraft in the U.S. Army’s history. Deliveries of the aircraft to National Guard units allow aging OH-58 and UH-1 rotary-wing aircraft to be retired, while UH-72As assigned to the active component of the U.S. Army replace UH-60 Black Hawks. |
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