Thu, Jul 01, 2010
Aircraft Attached To Army Guard Units From Four Gulf Coastal
States
Sixteen U.S. Army National Guard UH-72A Lakota Light Utility
Helicopters are operating in the Gulf Coast region to support oil
spill monitoring and response missions known as Operation Deepwater
Horizon. The sixteen Lakotas are assigned to Louisiana, Alabama,
Mississippi and Florida Army National Guard units who are providing
observation, command and control and general aviation support to
local, state and federal agencies responding to the Gulf Coast oil
spill disaster.
UH-72A Lakota File Photo
"The Lakota fleet continues to be a highly valuable aviation
asset in helping our Army National Guard units meet urgent
requirements, like those found in the Gulf Coast oil spill
disaster," said Army Col. L. Neil Thurgood, U.S. Army Utility
Helicopter Project Manager. "Our Soldiers like the aircraft and the
Lakota has been responsible for many life-saving missions. The
UH-72A Lakota helicopter has met cost, schedule and performance
metrics since program inception. I am proud of the Lakota
team."
During Operation Deepwater Horizon, these Lakotas have flown
nearly 200 flight hours -- monitoring buoys at oil containment
areas and looking for breaks in oil booms. The U.S. Army plans to
acquire 345 UH-72As through 2015, and the service has ordered 182
of the helicopters so far -- along with five H-72A versions
acquired for the U.S. Navy, which have been delivered.
UH-72A Lakota File Photo
UH-72As are operated throughout the United States, Puerto Rico,
Germany, and Kwajalein Atoll by active duty Army and Army National
Guard units. They are used for missions that include medical
evacuation (MEDEVAC), search and rescue, drug interdiction, VIP
transport and general aviation support. 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 free up UH-60 Black Hawks for
warfighting missions.
EADS North America has delivered 120 UH-72As. The in-service
UH-72A fleet has logged more than 32,000 flight hours at an
operational readiness rate greater than 90 percent.
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