WASHINGTON (Army News Service, July 10, 2008) - Louisiana's Aviation
Command last week became the latest National Guard unit to receive the
new light utility UH-72A Lakota helicopter.
C- Company, 1-114th Aviation Security and Support Battalion received
two Lakota's July 2 and is slated to receive two more of the
state-of-the-art helicopters later this month. They will be used for
command and control missions such as aerial reconnaissance,
counter-drug operations, weapons of mass destruction, and hurricane
emergencies.
Since the Army took delivery of its first UH-72A Lakota in November
2006, its builder, EADS North America, has delivered a total of 32
helicopters. On June 2, the National Guard's first Lakotas were
assigned to Detachment 1, C Company 1-114th Aviation Security and
Support Battalion, Tupelo, Miss.
Lakota helicopters have also been fielded to the National Training
Center Air Ambulance Detachment at Fort Irwin, Calif., to the Joint
Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La., and to the U.S. Army
Training and Doctrine Command Flight Detachment at Fort Eustis, Va. The
Aviation School at Fort Rucker, Ala., also has Lakotas, and the Eastern
Army Aviation Training Site at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa., received one
in early June.
Plans are to field a total of 345 Lakota helicopters by 2017, and
Product Manager Lt. Col. Jim Brashear said 60 of those are already
under contract. The Florida National Guard in Jacksonville, Fla., is
next on the list to receive two in August. Then two are scheduled to be
fielded to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., in October.
The Lakota is a military version of the civilian Eurocopter EC-145
multi-mission helicopter, used worldwide for law enforcement, emergency
medical transportation, search and rescue, and corporate transport,
modified to a LUH that will replace the OH-58. It usurped some of the
most modern and proven technology into one aircraft to deliver superior
performance, outstanding operational reliability, excellent
maintainability and safety.
"I love flying this helicopter verses the OH-58 because of its new
technology," said executive officer of the 1-114th S&S, 1st Lt. Kin
Romas of Lake Charles, La.
"Some of its features include auto pilot, and twin engines that will
expand the mission capabilities we have today," said Terry Blackmore,
UH Lakota fleet manager of Huntsville, Ala. "I like the reliability of
its navigational GPS system, and its speed."
"It has a lot more power than the OH-58 allowing it to carry more
people and haul more equipment," he continued. The UH Lakota seats up
to nine passengers; it can hold a maximum weight of about 8,000 pounds
and travel at speeds up to 145 knots, or 166.75 miles per hour.
The UH-72A's unobstructed main cabin is re-configurable to maximize
mission flexibility for transport. It also has sliding side and rear
clamshell doors to optimize access and provide more space as needed.
A wall-mounted medevac kit was installed to allow Soldiers to have
better access to medical gear instead of storing it in a canvas bag on
the floor of the helicopter. Another modification tested last month at
Fort Irwin, Calif., was the Engineer Inlet Barrier Filter. This filter
keeps dust and other particles from entering the turbine engines and
causing damage.
The Louisiana National Guards two new UH-72 Lakotas touch down for the first time at Esler Field in Pineville, La. Photo by Stephanie J. Cross
Source and credits : http://www.army.mil/-news/2008/07/10/10788-guard-units-receive-more-high-tech-lakota-helicopters/
|
