Interesting News Report.
ARMY
The UH-72A Lakota helicopter.
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 environments, because its cockpit electronics systems
could fail because the air conditioning is inadequate.
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 for light transport and
medical-evacuation missions.
The initial aircrafts produced under the $2 billion contract have been built
in France. American Eurocopter, the Grand Prairie-based arm of Eurocopter
and parent company EADS, will build the bulk of the new helicopters at a
plant in Columbus, Miss.
The report, based on testing that the Army performed with six of the new
helicopters in the desert conditions of Fort Irwin, Calif., found that there
was much to like about the UH-72A.
It says that the aircraft "is effective in the performance of light utility
missions" and that it appears to be reliable and easily maintained. It also
says that it has a low cost to operate and that it will be a significant
improvement over the aging UH-1H Hueys and OH-58 Kiowas now in operation.
But the aircraft cannot haul the desired loads at high-altitude and hot-day
conditions, and it is too small or is not organized to allow a medical
attendant to care for two critically injured patients on stretchers. It also
said crew members, patients and passengers would become very uncomfortable
because of the tightly sealed cabin's poor air conditioning.
The Army wants to use the helicopters to not only replace older aircraft but
also to allow it to move its workhorse Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawks to combat
units.
A Eurocopter official said that the UH-72 meets the Army's specific
mandatory requirements and that ways to address key issues identified in the
report are being discussed.
"We're working with the Army ... to address the capability of the air
conditioning in this aircraft," said Randy Hutcherson, vice president of
rotorcraft for EADS North America and manager of the light utility
helicopter program.
The Army never specified a requirement that the helicopter be suited to
caring for two critically injured patients at the same time, Hutcherson
said, something not even required by civil medical-evacuation aircraft.
Army officials did not return a call seeking comment. They have said that
the UH-72 provided the most capability for the price.
The Army chose it in a competition that also included entries from Bell
Helicopter, MD Helicopters and Italy's AgustaWestland. The Bell and Agusta
offerings were larger, more powerful and costlier.
Bob Cox, 817-390-7723
[email protected]