Sun, Mar 04, 2012
The 200th Helicopter First With Security And Support
Package
The 200th UH-72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) was
delivered Tuesday to the U.S. Army during a ceremony at American
Eurocopter's production facility in Columbus, MS. “Today
marks another significant milestone for the Lakota program,”
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.”
The 200th Lakota helicopter is the first production aircraft to
be delivered with the new Security and Support (S&S) Battalion
Mission Equipment Package (MEP). Lakotas are produced at the
company’s American Eurocopter facility in Columbus, Miss.,
which is the same facility where the initial S&S Battalion
Lakotas were retrofitted. “The S&S Battalion-equipped
Lakotas further demonstrate this proven platform’s ability
for growth to support a much broader range of demanding missions,
to ultimately include armed scout missions,” O’Keefe
said.
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 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.
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