After the cancellation of the Comanche
helicopter program, the US Army launched the Light Utility Helicopter, or LUH,
competition, with the goal of 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 by the means of 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 proposal of the EC145 in its UH-145 variant was selected on June 2006 and named as the UH-72A. . The official name Lakota was unveiled during the delivery ceremony of the first aircraft on December 11, 2006. Lakota 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
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.
MD Helicopters/Lockheed MD900 Explorer
A NOTAR class helicopter 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
AgustaWestland US139
AgustaWestland teamed L-3 Communications with the AW139, 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)
EADS North America UH-145
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.
EADS North America delivered the fiftieth UH-72A on December 16, 2008
Database:
UH-72A in US Army
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
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 proposal of the EC145 in its UH-145 variant was selected on June 2006 and named as the UH-72A. . The official name Lakota was unveiled during the delivery ceremony of the first aircraft on December 11, 2006. Lakota 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.
Contenders

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.



A NOTAR class helicopter 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


AgustaWestland teamed L-3 Communications with the AW139, 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)


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.


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