March 5, 2008
With more than 20 UH-72A Lakotas delivered on time or ahead of schedule by EADS North America, the U.S. Army’s new Light Utility Helicopter is meeting its mission within the targeted budget requirements.
Lakotas currently are flying from three Army bases within the United States, and program officials said there are plans to expand the rotary-wing aircraft’s operations to both Europe and Japan.
As its UH-72A fleet expands, the Army recently honored the Lakota’s namesake Indian tribe during a ceremony held at the Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. The Lakota’s naming follows a Department of Defense regulation that calls for designations of new Army helicopters be Native American in origin.
Lakota Indians are part of the seven confederations that compose the Sioux nation, and were known as a peaceful, non-aggressive people that lived by hunting buffalo on horseback. Their reputation is in line with the Lakota helicopter’s role as an unarmed aircraft whose assignments include medical airlift, disaster relief, homeland defense and counter-narcotics operations.
"It is a great honor to have our name out there now where people can see it," said Rodney Bordeaux, president of the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council. "It is an honor to have the tradition of our warriors and veterans going on. We exist today because of our treaty with the federal government."
