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In June of 2006 the United States Army selected the Eurocopter EC-145 as its choice for a pre-existing off the shelf FAA certified helicopter to fufill the role of light duty utility helicopter, designating its version as the UH-72A Lakota. The UH-72A will be manufactured in the US at the American Eurocopter facility in Colombus, Mississippi. The first UH-72A was delivered to the US Army in December of 2006, and the initial units will be assigned to the National Training Center at Ft. Irwin, CA. to relieve the UH-60 Blackhawks currently assigned there for aero-medical evacuation missions. The UH-72A is an unarmed helicopter optimized for routine air operations, to include civil support, air transport, medical evacuation, and search and rescue, in a permissive, non-hostile environment. Initial production is slated at 322 aircraft. Description Airframe and general capabilities. The UH-72A is a twin-engined light duty helicopter. It is equipped with a single 4-bladed main rotor and a single 2-bladed tail rotor mounted on the left-hand side of the tail assembly. The helicopters tail unit is mounted high with a pair of non-moving horizontal stabilizers mounted below the tail rotor. In addition, there are twin vertical stabilizers mounted on the outside edges of the horizontal stabilizers, thus effectively boxing in the tail rotor, enabling the safe loading and unloading of the cargo area. Basic crew consists of a pilot and co-pilot. The UH-72A is capable of transporting 8 passengers or 2 litters in the medical evacuation capacity. The aircraft body has access doors mounted on each side of the fuselage, as well as large clamshell doors on the rear of the airframe to allow access to the cargo area for the loading of bulk cargo or litters. The UH-72A is equipped with a rescue winch, which is mounted on the left-hand side above the crew compartment door. The UH-72A utilizes a twin skid landing gear system. Powerplant The UH-72A Lakota is equipped with two Turbomeca Arriel 1E2 turboshaft engines, each rated to 738 shaft horsepower. The internal fuel capacity of the UH-72A is 229 gallons, divided up between three fuel tanks. Flight characteristics The empty weight of the UH-72A is 3,951 pounds. The maximum take off weight is 7,903 pounds. The maximum cargo capacity is 3,953 pounds and the maximum external load rating is 3,307 pounds. The maximum (do not exceed) speed is 145 knots (166 mph) and the cruising speed is 133 knots (153 mph.) The hover ceiling in ground effect is 11,300 feet (3,478m) while the hover ceiling out of ground effect is 9,000 feet (2,769m.) The service ceiling is 18,000 feet ( 5,538m.) With internal fuel, the maximum range of the UH-72A is 370 nautical miles (420 statue miles.) Electronics The UH-72A is equipped with standard aviation communication equipment, including VHF-FM, UHF-FM, and VHF-AM/FM radios. The instrumentation is NVG-compatable, and incorporates the standard ?glass cockpit? technology found on the Army?s other production helicopters. This instrumentation includes digital displays and data transfer, as well as color multifunction displays (MFD.) Armament The UH-72A is unarmed and there are no on board provisions for attaching weapons. The primary mission of the Lakota, as well as its permissive airspace operational restriction make arming the helicopter unnecessary.