Eurocopter UH - 72 Lakota The Eurocopter UH - 72 Lakota is a twin - engine helicopter with a single , four - bladed main rotor . The UH - 72 is a militarized version of the Eurocopter EC145 and is built by American Eurocopter division of EADS North America . Initially marketed as the UH - 145 , the helicopter was selected as the winner of the United States Army ' s Light Utility Helicopter ( LUH ) program on 30 June 2006 . In October 2006 , American Eurocopter was awarded a production contract for 345 aircraft to replace aging UH - 1H / V and OH - 58A / C helicopters in the U . S . Army and Army National Guard fleets . Development . Background . The U . S . Army ' s " LHX " program began in the early 1980s , proposing two helicopter designs with a high percentage of commonality of dynamic components . One was a light utility version ( " LHX - U " ) for assault and tactical movement of troops and supplies , the other was a light scout / attack version ( " LHX - SCAT " ) to complement the growing development of the AH - 64 Apache . As the program was developed , the light utility version was dropped and focus was placed on the light attack reconnaissance version , which eventually became the RAH - 66 Comanche . In 2004 , the Department of Defense and the U . S . Army made the decision to terminate the RAH - 66 program . As part of the termination , the service was allowed to keep the future years ' funding programmed for the Comanche . To replace the capability that the Comanche was supposed to offer , the U . S . Army planned several programs , including three new aircraft . The Army Staff decided that these three aircraft , the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter ( ARH ) , the Light Utility Helicopter ( LUH ) , and the Future Cargo Aircraft ( FCA ) ( later renamed Joint Cargo Aircraft , or JCA ) , were to be existing , in - production commercial aircraft modified for Army service . LUH Program and UH - 145 . The " LUH " program was initiated in early 2004 , with an initial stated requirement for 322 helicopters to conduct homeland security , administrative , logistic , medical evacuation ( MEDEVAC ) and support of the army test and training centers missions . The LUH contract was released in late July 2005 . At least five proposals were received . The competitors included the Bell 210 and Bell 412 , MD Explorer and AW139 . EADS North America ( EADS NA ) marketed the " UH - 145 " variant of the EC 145 for the program . On 30 June 2006 , the U . S . Army announced that the EADS NA entry had won the competition for the LUH contract , the value for which was estimated as being worth over $ 3 billion . In August , the UH - 145 airframe was officially designated the UH - 72A by the Department of Defense . The UH - 145 award was confirmed in October 2006 following protests from losing bidders . Despite the impact of the four - month delay due to the protests , EADS NA was able to deliver the first UH - 72 on time in December , at which time the name " Lakota " was also formally announced for the type , in line with the service ' s long - standing tradition of giving its helicopters Native American names . The LUH marked EADS NA ' s largest DoD contract to date , and added to existing programs including the U . S . Coast Guard ' s HH - 65 Dolphin and HC - 144A and various other defense and security systems contracts . The Lakota received full - rate production ( FRP ) approval on 23 August 2007 . This was to allow the U . S . Army to buy the full quantity of aircraft , planned at 345 through 2017 as of June 2008 . The UH - 72A is being produced at American Eurocopter ' s facility in Columbus , Mississippi . Production was transitioning from local assembly of aircraft kits received from Eurocopter Deutschland to full local production , which was slated to begin in March 2009 . In December 2009 , the service ordered 45 more UH - 72As to increase the order total to 178 . The 100th Lakota was delivered in March 2010 . A total of 180 had been delivered by late August 2011 ; the 250th UH - 72 was delivered in April 2013 . That month , the U . S . Army decided to halt UH - 72 procurement after 2014 because of budget cuts . Final orders will deliver 312 Lakotas to the service . Armed Aerial Scout . The Armed Scout 645 ( EC645 ) is a proposed armed version of the UH - 72 for the U . S . Army ' s Armed Aerial Scout OH - 58D replacement program being offered by EADS and Lockheed Martin . The companies announced a teaming agreement for the Armed Scout 645 on 4 May 2009 . Three flight demonstrator aircraft named " AAS - 72X " were built in 2010 . They began flight testing in late 2010 . In September 2012 , EADS began voluntary flight demonstrations of the aircraft . Over the next two weeks they flew an AAS - 72X and an EC145 T2 at high altitudes . Flying took place from September 24 to October 3 , and the aircraft met performance requirements . There are two versions of the aircraft being offered for the program : the AAS - 72X , an armed version of the UH - 72 , and the AAS - 72X + , an armed military version of EADS subsidiary Eurocopter ' s civilian EC - 145T2 . CVLSP . In May 2012 , EADS North America forwarded information about the UH - 72A Lakota to the U . S . Air Force , making it a candidate in the Common Vertical Life Support Platform ( CVLSP ) program to replace the UH - 1N Twin Huey . As with the U . S . Army , the Lakota can replace the Hueys used by the air force in permissive environments . Advantages over the UH - 1N include 30 percent more speed , range , and loiter time , enhanced reliability and crashworthyness , night vision compatibility , and modern avionics . New airframes cost about $ 5 . 5 million per unit and are cheaper to operate than the UH - 1N . As of March 2013 , the CVLSP is not receiving funding but is still being pursued by air force officials . In August 2013 , the air force said it would finalize a plan to sustain its UH - 1N fleet for another six to ten years . On 16 September 2013 , acting Air Force Secretary Eric Fanning received a letter from the chairman and CEO of EADS North America . It argued that the plan to refit and maintain the Hueys would cost more than the acquisition and operation of UH - 72A Lakotas for the mission of protecting nuclear missile sites . Since the air force will be the only service flying UH - 1N models , they would have to bear the additional costs of logistics , supply , and training pipelines . The letter also urged the U . S . Air Force to act soon , as orders for the U . S . Army are almost complete and the production line is winding down . While the air service says they have little money to allocate and can take the risk of using the Hueys for a few more years , EADS North America says that buying Lakotas " will lower the risk to the U . S . Air Force nuclear enterprise , and will save taxpayers the considerable cost of future recapitalization . " Design . The UH - 72 is designed to take on a range of missions , from general support and medical evacuation ( MEDEVAC ) to personnel recovery and counter - narcotics operations . They are planned to replace the UH - 1 and OH - 58A / C , which are older light utility helicopters , and supplant other types in domestic use , primarily those in Army National Guard service . The UH - 72 is being procured as a commercial off - the - shelf ( COTS ) product , which simplifies logistics support of the fleet . EADS NA has teamed with Sikorsky to provide Contractor Logistics Support ( CLS ) for the UH - 72 , through its Helicopter Support , Inc . ( HSI ) / Sikorsky Aerospace Maintenance . ( SAM ) subsidiaries . In May 2013 , Congress questioned why the UH - 72 had not been considered for a possible armed scout role . General Ray Odierno responded that the UH - 72A was developed for homeland operations rather than for battlefield conditions . The UH - 72 is typically employed by the U . S . Army National Guard as a utility helicopter in the U . S . , which allowed UH - 60 Black Hawk s to deploy overseas . As of 2013 , the utility version is not considered to be operationally deployable to a warzone ; combat - capable versions were evaluated for the Armed Aerial Scout program . On 21 June 2013 , Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition , Technology and Logistics Frank Kendall wrote a letter to Congress , stating that modifications for combat conditions was " presently unaffordable . " The service determined that fleet - wide combat modifications would cost $ 780 million and add of weight to each helicopter ; changes would include passive and active survivability systems , hardened engine and drive train , new external lighting , and communications upgrades . Operational history . The first aircraft was delivered to the U . S . Army on 11 December 2006 in Columbus , Mississippi . On 12 December 2006 , General Richard A . Cody , Vice Chief of Staff of the Army , and Joe Red Cloud , a chief of the Oglala Sioux Tribe , Lakota nation , accepted the first UH - 72A in an official ceremony . The service estimated that delivery of the planned 345 aircraft would continue until 2017 . The first production helicopters were sent to the National Training Center ( NTC ) , Fort Irwin , California for medical evacuation missions in January 2007 . On 20 June 2007 , the NTC ' s U . S . Army Air Ambulance Detachment ( USAAAD ) became the first operational unit to field the Lakota . On 10 July 2007 , the Training and Doctrine Command ( TRADOC ) Flight Detachment at Fort Eustis , Virginia became the second U . S . Army unit fielded with the UH - 72A . A report published in August 2007 , by the Operational Test and Evaluation Directorate ( DOT & E ) noted that , although the Lakota " is effective in the performance of light utility missions " it was prone to overheating during operations in the desert conditions of Fort Irwin , when not equipped with air conditioning systems . In response , vents were added in the doors to increase cabin air flow ; air conditioning has been installed on some Medical and VIP versions also added air conditioning units for crew comfort . The Joint Readiness Training Center ( JRTC ) located at Fort Polk , Louisiana received their first aircraft on 7 September 2007 . On 16 January 2009 , the United States Military Academy received two UH - 72As , replacing two UH - 1H helicopters for VIP transport to and from the academy . The helicopters also support the cadet parachute team and cadet training missions . The U . S . Naval Test Pilot School received the first of five UH - 72As in September 2009 . The UH - 72A replaced the TH - 6B Cayuse as the prime training aircraft for the test pilot school ' s helicopter curriculum . By March 2010 , the Lakota entered service in Puerto Rico , Kwajalein Atoll , and the U . S . Army ’ s missile test range in Germany . On 20 December 2010 , a UH - 72A assigned to the Puerto Rico National Guard became the first UH - 72A to experience a fatal accident . The aircraft crashed at sea off the coast of Puerto Rico , and all six personnel aboard were killed . On 18 July 2012 , the U . S . Army received 3 UH - 72A Lakotas at Redstone Arsenal , Huntsville , Alabama . These are be used by the Aviation Flight Test Directorate for general support and as chase aircraft to support developmental testing of aircraft and aviation systems . With the delivery , the service has received over 200 UH - 72As . On 22 September 2012 , the Oregon Army National Guard ' s Detachment - 1 , C Company , 1 - 112 Aviation received the first of four new UH - 72A Lakota helicopters during a roll - out ceremony at Camp Rilea in Warrenton , Oregon . Export . On 7 June 2013 , Thailand requested the sale of 6 UH - 72A Lakotas with associated equipment , training , and support for an estimated cost of $ 77 million . On 9 October 2013 , the Thai government approved $ 55 million in funds to support the Royal Thai Army ' s acquisition of six UH - 72A helicopters from 2013 to 2015 . The government ' s decision gives the Thai Army permission to sign contracts to procure the helicopters .