Nearly Half Of 345 Planned UH-72A Lakotas Have Been
Delivered
The latest version of the Lakota, the security and support
model, was on display at the Pentagon Nov. 18 so senior Army
leaders could take a look at the newest member of the Army's air
fleet. Aiding homeland security, search and rescue missions,
medical evacuations, and security and support, Lakotas are smaller,
more affordable and more technologically savvy than their older
counterparts such as the UH-1 Huey.
Lakota Security & Support Model
U.S. Army Photo
The security and support Lakota comes equipped with day and
night cameras which can track targets at up to nine miles away, a
large search light, a navigation system which can locate a street
address rather than only a grid coordinate, and a communications
system that can be synched with first responders on the ground.
Col. Neil Thurgood, project manager for Utility Helicopters at
Redstone Arsenal, AL, explained that Lakotas are well-suited for
disaster response scenarios such as hurricane Katrina. For this
reason, Thurgood explained, the Lakota aircraft are almost
exclusively being used by the National Guard in support of homeland
security. "From an Army aviation perspective, this is the next
evolution of replacing older airframes with newer airframes,"
Thurgood said.
Fielded since 2007, the Army has also ordered the Lakota in
mission-equipment packages for medical purposes and for VIPs. "The
expense of running this aircraft is significantly lower than our
aging aircraft. The older an aircraft gets, the more expensive it
is to maintain it," Thurgood said.
While the Lakota can be flown anywhere the Army deems
permissible, Thurgood said there are no current plans to send the
helicopter into combat. However, the addition of more Lakota
aircraft to troops in the U.S. will free up other helicopters such
as UH-60 BlackHawks to go overseas. "I hear back from the
commanders and pilots, and they just applaud it," said Lt. Col.
Dave Bristol, product manager for Lakota helicopters, adding that
it's easy to fly.
Bristol said the most beneficial aspect of the aircraft is its
versatility. "At the end of the day there is a Soldier flying that
aircraft, and our responsibility is to give them a safe, flyable
aircraft that they can do their mission with, and that's our number
one priority," said Thurgood.