By Ann Roosevelt
New UH-72A Lakota light utility helicopters (LUH) fielding to the Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida National Guard units are mission ready, according to officials.
Mississippi and Lousiana each now have four LUHs and will receive another four in 2011, Nathan Drevna, a spokesman for European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) North America told Defense Daily. Florida now has two Lakotas and will have a total of four by October.
EADS expects 37 aircraft to be fielded at the end of September. Another four aircraft will be delivered to the Army, but will be retrofitted with some equipment before fielding.
The National Guard Bureau said the current UH-72A cost to the Army is about $6 million The ARNG will be receiving a total of 200 UH-72As. Of those, 192 will be fielded 32 each to the six Army National Guard Security & Support (S&S) Aviation Battalions.
“They’re mission ready,” said Col. Barry Keeling, aviation officer for the state of Louisiana, said of the UH-72A Lakotas. Lt. Col. Tim Powell of the Mississippi National Guard said, “They’re ready right now for missions.”
The pilots seem to like the LUH very much, Keeling and Powell separately said.
Both Mississippi and Louisian have a number of other aircraft.
The first Lakota pilots were trained at EADS-North America’s subsidiary American Eurocopter in Grand Prairie, Texas, and were ready to fly when the helicopters were accepted for delivery. “Our pilots got in the Lakotas in Columbus and flew to Tupelo,” Powell said. EADS’ Lakota facility is in Columbus, Miss., and the aircraft are now based in Tupelo, some 60 miles away.” The Army requires EADS to transition to full assembly of the aircraft in Mississippi. Right now the aircraft are built by Eurocopter in Germany and undergo final assembly in Columbus.
The Lakota will be “a huge asset” in the event of a disaster, he said, ticking off hurricanes, tornadoes and even ice storms.
Some of the new helicopters are earmarked for training at the Eastern Aviation Training Site at Ft. Indiantown Gap, Pa., Drevna said.
The Lakota is part of the Army’s broad plan to modernize its aviation fleet from funds originally slated for the next-generation RAH-66 Comanche helicopter, a joint Boeing [BA]-Sikorsky [UTX] armed reconnaissance helicopter, which was terminated by the Army in 2004.
The Army received its first UH-72A Lakota in November 2006–after the contract was awarded in June to EADS North America. Operational service began in early 2007 at Ft. Irwin, Calif., and full-rate production was approved in August 2007.
EADS production will remain at three Lakotas a month through January 2009, then ramp up to four LUHs per month from February through August 2009.
The Lakota, based on the Eurocopter EC-145, will take on non-combat missions and be used primarily by the National Guard for homeland defense, search and rescue, medical evacuation and counter-drug operations.
The twin turbine engine, single rotor helicopter with modern avionics can carry as many as 11 and conduct operations during the day, at night and in all types of weather. Additionally, the helicopter can lift more than 3,000 pounds and fly up to 268 kilometers per hour.
Lakota will replace the single engine UH-1 and Kiowa C model that are both range limited.
While early issues surfaced showing the helicopter had overheating problems, EADS North America has made changes and, where the Army requires it, will add air conditioning– something standard in commercial versions of the aircraft. The military tends not to require air conditioning because it adds weight and reduces performance.
The Eastern Army Aviation Training Site Ft. Indiantown Gap is specifically designed to train Lakota aviators and crew. It is the only training site for the helicopter.
The first two Lakotas arrived in July and two more are expected by the end of the year. By 2012, a total of eight UH-72A helicopters are expected at the site. The site also has a Lakota simulator–a one-of-a-kind in the Army, is a cockpit procedure trainer. It is designed to maintain pilot proficiency day or night and using night-vision goggles.
Once the Lakotas are delivered, “EADS North America and its subsidiary, American Eurocopter, along with Sikorsky, provide on-site experts, maintenance personnel–depending on the site–parts supply and aircraft maintenance software,” Drevna said. Additionally, EADS-North America also “provides the initial pilot and functional check flight training for the aviators, and the maintenance qualification course for the LUH for the National Guard service personnel as required.”
The National Guard expects Lakota deliveries through fiscal year 2016. However, recent Army funding adjustments will now accelerate and complete the LUH procurement plan earlier, with the FY’11 and later unit fieldings advanced by an estimated two years.
Additionally, the ARNG is moving forward with a requirement for unique aircraft mission equipment optimized for the homeland security/homeland defense mission, similar to the equipment found on the current modified OH-58A’s used in those units. The ARNG has received initial approval from the Army on the requirement for this mission equipment.
The mission equipment will support the aircraft’s role with respect to the ARNG S&S Helicopter Battalion mission. The S&S flight companies retain some common aviation equipment as part of the UH-72 fielding but are also issued unique UH-72 special tools and test equipment.