NASHVILLE, Tenn.–At a time of fiscal austerity and ruthless pruning of non-performing programs, the UH-72A light utility helicopter, a commercial-off-the-shelf procurement, has been “performing admirably,” says the project officer for utility helicopters.
“It’s been a real success story for us, its been on schedule, and met it’s cost targets,” Col. Thomas Todd told reporters at the Army Aviation Association of America annual professional forum.
To date, the Army has taken delivery of 200 of the Lakotas out of a planned procurement of 345, Todd said. They are built by the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. (EADS).
“Since the program was awarded, we’ve successfully stayed on program budget designed for full rate production, and in April 2012, I believe we have done that very well,” said John Burke, EADS North America Lakota program manager said.
Additionally, the company has trained almost 1,000 aviators and support personnel.
The Lakota has been provided to 42 of 50 states, to National Guard and active duty units.
Production is planned to run through fiscal year 2016, then the helicopter will enter the lifecycle stage, and be maintained like all other service helicopters, Todd said. The active component has roughly one-third of the helicopters; when fielding is complete, the National Guard will have two-thirds of the helicopters.
The Lakota is unique in that it is FAA certified and maintains that certification, something that is not done with the Black Hawk, Apache, Chinook or Kiowa helicopters. Keeping the certification current allows the aircraft to stay in step with the commercial fleet.
When problems are identified on the commercial version of the Lakota, they are recognized and solved, and the Army benefits, Todd said. “Whereas, typically to solve a problem on a platform it owns, the Army pays for it,” he said.
The Lakota is now approaching 100,000 hours flown, and leads the aviation fleet with a “consistently 90 percent operational available rate,” he said.
Different Mission Equipment Packages are available for Lakota: medical evacuation (MEDEVAC), VIP and Security and Support. (S&S)
With a MEDEVAC package, the helicopter deployed to Haiti for disaster relief after its devastating earthquake.
The VIP package is part of an Army unit in Washington, D.C.
The S&S package, geared toward working with the Department of Homeland Security and civil authorities, is unique in the Army inventory where the majority of aircraft deal with military threats.
The Lakota takes commercial technology and builds on it, for example, doing counter narcotics work on the Southwest border. “Actively is participating today in support of NORTHCOM,” Todd said.
The S&S package was built to stare at long distances at a suspected target, identify it, track it and then pass the data to civil authorities. And it records the whole event.
Since the Lakota works with civil authorities in locating and designating areas of interest, it does not use the military grid system of mapping, it uses GPS, zip codes and street addresses to identify locations and be understandable to government or civil authorities.
Lt. Col. Dave Bristol, product manager for light utility helicopters, said the S&S capability consists of an electro-optical-infrared sensor ball on the front of the aircraft, which gives it both capability and standoff capability. A downlink antenna is coupled to it, pumping video to a first responder’s console or workstation, which cuts response time, he said. The helicopter accommodates different stations, one with a a 15-inch touch screen monitor and two foldout 10 -inch screens.
Additionally, the package has a searchlight, which can be slaved to the optics, and used by pilots or those in the back of the airframe.
The Army National Guard has seen most of the Mission Equipment Package growth, and that has been “beyond where we thought it would go,” he said. “S&S was not initially seen as a mission set, the National Guard asked for it, and the program office delivered,” Todd said.