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 was built by American Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters, Inc.), a division of Airbus Group, Inc. 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 ageing UH-1H/V and OH-58A/C helicopters in the US Army and Army National Guard fleets.

Development

Background

The US 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.

Utility helicopter

A utility helicopter is a multi-purpose helicopter. A utility military helicopter can fill roles such ground attack, air assault, military logistics, medical evacuation, command and control, and troop transport. Some overlap of terminology is inevitable with transport helicopter.

See also

References

External links

Media related to Utility helicopters at Wikimedia Commons