Free Republic

Pentagon weapons testers say the Army’s new European-designed and built light utility helicopter has a couple of serious shortcomings that must be remedied before it can fulfill many assigned missions. A new report by the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation says the Eurocopter UH-72A Lakota helicopter “is not operationally suitable,” especially in hot weather environments, because its cockpit electronics systems could fail due to inadequate air conditioning. The Army plans to buy 322 of the helicopters, a slightly modified version of the commercial Eurocopter EC-145, which it selected last year for use by stateside Army and National Guard units...

COLUMBUS, Miss. (Army News Service, Dec. 11, 2006) - Gen. Richard A. Cody, Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, and Joe RedCloud, a chief of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Lakota Nation, accepted the Army's first Lakota Light Utility Helicopter, UH-72A, in a ceremony here today. "The Light Utility Helicopter - from concept development to material fielding to rapid deployment - is not only serving as a catalyst for change across the Army, it is also accelerating the speed of Army aviation modernization and integration with other services and government agencies," said Cody. The Army has a long-standing tradition of...