Fri, Nov 13, 2009
Navy's Newest Training Helicopter Made By EADS North
America
EADS North America has delivered the first of five H-72A
training helicopters for the U.S. Navy Thursday, marking a new
milestone in the company’s production of multi-role
helicopters for U.S. military services.
The H-72A fleet will be based at the U.S. Naval Test Pilot
School at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Maryland, where it is
to be used to train test pilots from the U.S. military and allied
countries. The H-72A shares the same airframe and is manufactured
on the same production line as the U.S. Army’s UH-72A Lakota
Light Utility Helicopter— both of which are produced in
Mississippi by EADS North America’s American Eurocopter
subsidiary.
“Not only is this the first H-72A we’ve built for
the U.S. Navy – it’s our first helicopter produced
specifically to fulfill a training mission within the U.S. armed
forces,” said EADS North America Chief Operating Officer Dave
Oliver. “The expansion of UH- 72A/H-72A missions demonstrates
the adaptability of the aircraft to a wide range of operational
scenarios. We’re certainly
proud that a new generation of test pilots will be trained using
these highly reliable and versatile helicopters.”
The Navy’s H-72As have several specific equipment
additions for their pilot training mission – including
jettisonable cockpit doors, a cockpit voice and flight data
recorder, a main rotor blade folding kit and an air traffic
advisory system. All five H- 72As will be configured in the Naval
Test Pilot School’s high-visibility white and orange paint
scheme.
Derived from Eurocopter’s proven EC145 multi-role
helicopter, the Navy H-72As and Army UH-72As are equipped with a
modern glass cockpits, and their high-set main and tail rotors
provide safety, access and space utilization. The Army plans to
acquire 345 UH-72As through 2016 in addition to the five H-72As
being acquired on behalf of the U.S. Navy.
In addition to the current production of H-72As and UH-72As,
EADS North America is offering the Armed Scout 645 variant for the
U.S. Army’s armed aerial scout requirement.
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