Helicopters Delivered From New Production Facility
EADS North America recently upped deliveries of its UH-72A Light
Utility Helicopter, by supplying a pair of its rotary-wing aircraft
to the US Army in September -- the first time two Lakotas have been
delivered during a single month.
Both UH-72As were accepted at the newly-expanded Lakota
production center in Columbus, MS operated by the American
Eurocopter business unit of EADS North America.
These are the 11th and 12th UH-72As received by the Army since
deliveries of the Light Utility Helicopter began in December 2006
at the rate of one per month. The helos are also the second and
third "made in America" Lakotas, which are certified under US
production authority recently issued by the Federal Aviation
Administration for American Eurocopter’s UH-72A/EC145
helicopters.
"This milestone is all about meeting our company’s
promises to the US Army and to the country," said EADS North
America Chairman and CEO Ralph D. Crosby, Jr. "We are maintaining
on-time deliveries of a helicopter that is vital to the
Army’s rotary-wing fleet modernization, and we continue to
bring high-value jobs to America with our expanded state-of-the-art
production center in Mississippi."
Up to 322 Lakotas will be acquired by the Army for use within
the United States on homeland security operations, for medical
evacuation, passenger/logistics transportation and drug
interdiction missions. Delivery rate for the UH-72A will increase
to three monthly in early 2008, ultimately rising to as many as
five per month in 2009.
To accommodate the ramp-up of UH-72A industrial activity,
American Eurocopter’s Columbus factory has grown to a total
covered area of 325,000 sq. ft., encompassing a Lakota assembly
hall, flight line, paint shop, warehouse, administrative offices,
flight operations and flight test engineering. Its workforce is
building up to approximately 350 employees, of which 200 will be
directly involved in UH-72A activity – while the others will
be involved in various American Eurocopter helicopter programs.
Inaugurated in 2004 at the Golden Triangle Regional Airport,
this facility began operations with a staff of 44 persons and an
initial 92,000 sq. feet of facilities for helicopter assembly,
parts manufacturing and administrative offices.
Lakotas 11 and 12 were received by the Army on September 26th
and 27th respectively and will be assigned to its Joint Readiness
Training Center at Ft. Polk, LA. They join another Lakota
previously delivered to this training center. All of the aircraft
are configured for transport and support missions.
Other UH-72As are performing VIP airlift and transport duties at
Ft. Eustis/Ft. Monroe in Virginia’s Hampton Roads region. The
first Army unit equipped with Lakotas was the National Training
Center Air Ambulance Detachment at Ft. Irwin, CA, where UH-72As are
outfitted for medical evacuation with litters and an
externally-mounted rescue hoist.