UH-72 Lakota

UH-72 Lakota
UH-72 Lakota
Role	Light utility helicopter
National origin	Multinational
Manufacturer	Eurocopter Airbus Helicopters
Built by	American Eurocopter Airbus Helicopters, Inc.
First flight	2006
Introduction	2007
Status	In service
Primary users	United States Army United States Navy
Produced	2006–present
Number built	349
Unit cost	US$5.9 million (flyaway cost, FY2012)
Developed from	Eurocopter EC145

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.

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.

In 2004, the Department of Defense and the US Army made the decision to terminate the RAH-66 program. As part of the termination, the Army retained the future years' funding intended for the Comanche. To replace the capability of the cancelled Comanche, the US 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.

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 July 2005. At least five proposals were received, including Bell's 210 and 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 US Army announced that the UH-145 as the $3 billion LUH contract's winner. In August, the UH-145 was officially designated by the Department of Defense as the UH-72A. The award was confirmed in October 2006 following protests from losing bidders. Despite a four-month delay due to the protests, the first UH-72 was delivered on time in December, at which time the name Lakota was also formally announced for the type, following the service's tradition of giving its helicopters Native American names. The LUH marked EADS NA's largest DoD contract to date.