LUH
( Eurocopter UH-72A Lakota )
After the termination of the Comanche
helicopter Program, the US Army launch the Light Utility Helicopter competition,
which aims to replace the old UH-1H Hueys and
OH-58 Kiowa aircraft still in service on Active
and National Guard units with approximately 320 new LUH helicopters to be delivered
between 2006-2015 in a $2+ billion budget.
The LUH winner will fill the niche missions in which the US Army's standard
UH-60 Black Hawk's size, capability, and operating expense
may be less than optimal.
The selected aircraft would be a Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS)/ Non-Developmental Item (NDI)
Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) Type Standard Certified.
The Eurocopter EC145 UH-145 proposal
was selected on June 2006 and named as the UH-72A with
the first unit delivered to the US Army by December.
During the delivery ceremony of the first airframe, on December 11, 2006 the US Army unveiled the UH-72A’s
official name: Lakota, which is a Native American Indian tribe of the Great Sioux Nation.
Naming the UH-72A the Lakota continues the service’s tradition of naming its helicopters after Native American tribes.
Bell 210
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The Bell 210 is a civil certified version of the U.S. Army UH-1H. Starting
with a refurbished UH-1H fuselage, Bell Helicopter adds dynamic components
from the Bell 212 (main rotor hub and blades, tail rotor, main and tail
rotor support structure, transmission, rotating controls, and tail boom),
and an FAA certified Honeywell T-53-517B engine providing a zero-time FAA
certified single engine medium utility helicopter.
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Bell also proposed its 412EP Twin Huey
MD Helicopters / Lockheed MD-900 Explorer
is a NOTAR class using twin Pratt & Whitney Canada 207E turbine engines,
and provides Instrument Flight Rules capability for day, night and night vision goggle operations.
With a crashworthy frame, fully articulated main rotor system with bearingless composite flexbeams and rotor
hub, energy absorbing crew seating and a crash-resistant fuel system meet LUH requirements.
At the time, the US Coast Guard was also testing an armed version called
MH-90 Enforcer
AugustaWestland AW139
AugustaWestland teamed L-3 Communications with their US139,
a medium sized helicopter capable of carrying 15 passengers that
can cruise in excess of 165 knots with a useful load of more than 2720 kgs (6,000 lbs)
And the Winner is ...
EADS North America UH-145 is a version of the commercial
Eurocopter EC145 and a joint venture of EADS North America and Eurocopter,
which will handle the helicopter’s production, assembly and delivery; Sikorsky Aircraft,
responsible for contractor logistics support (CLS); WestWind Technologies, for systems integration, engineering support
and program management expertise; and CAE USA of Tampa, Florida, the supplier of UH-145 cockpit procedures trainers.
The industrial activity will be centered at American Eurocopter’s Columbus,
Mississippi facility, which is to undergo a major expansion to accommodate the LUH program.
Related News:
US Army selects Eurocopter UH-145 for its LUH Requirement Jun 29, 2006
US Army Places Second Production Order For UH-145 Nov 9, 2006
First UH-72A Lakota delivered to US Army Dec 11, 2006
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