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Deliveries of the U.S. Army's newest rotary-wing aircraft are
continuing ahead of schedule as EADS North America plans to increase
production output of the twin-engine UH-72A Lakota Light Utility
Helicopter.
Six UH-72As have been received by the Army to date, with the no. 6
helicopter displayed this week at the Army Aviation Association of
America's annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.
The delivery rate will be ramping up to two Light Utility
Helicopters per month in September, meeting EADS North America's
production target for the current program phase. At full-rate
production, the company plans to build five UH-72As per month.
"EADS North America continues to meet its commitments on this
highly important contract, and we have mobilized our company's full
resources to ensure that the Army receives high-quality, mission-ready
aircraft," said David R. Oliver, Jr., the President and CEO of EADS
North America Defense.
UH-72As delivered to date are assigned to the U.S. Army's National
Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, with more than 550 flight
hours logged so far by the Lakota fleet.
The Army has a requirement for up to 322 UH-72As in a 10 year
program with a total life-cycle value of over $2 billion. These
helicopters will be operated primarily within the U.S. for homeland
security operations, medical evacuation, passenger/logistics
transportation and drug interdiction missions. Many of them will be
assigned to Army National Guard units in locations throughout the
country, allowing older-generation helicopters to be retired and
freeing up larger rotary-wing aircraft for assignment to other duties
- including deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Assembly and production of the UH-72A is performed at the
Columbus, Mississippi facility of American Eurocopter, a business unit
of EADS North America. American Eurocopter is in the process of
enlarging this site - located at the Golden Triangle Regional Airport
- to accommodate the Light Utility Helicopter's production and
deliveries. This expansion is on schedule for completion this
September, and includes new buildings for the Lakota's assembly hall,
flight line and storage area, paint shop, warehouse, administrative
offices, flight operations and flight test engineering.
The UH-72A contract expands EADS North America's 20-year heritage
as a supplier to U.S. homeland security and law enforcement agencies,
including the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection,
the Drug Enforcement Agency, FBI, and numerous state and local law
enforcement agencies across the United States.
About EADS North America (www.eadsnorthamerica.com)
EADS North America is the North American operations of EADS, the
second largest aerospace and defense company in the world. As a leader
in all sectors of defense and homeland security, EADS North America
and its parent company, EADS, contribute over $10 billion to the U.S.
economy annually and support more than 190,000 American jobs through
its network of suppliers and services. With 12 operating companies
located in 30 cities and 17 states, EADS North America offers a broad
array of advanced solutions to its customers in the commercial,
homeland security, aerospace and defense markets.
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