National Guard receives new helicopters.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew
• Position: SECURITY BEAT: HOMELAND DEFENSE BRIEFS - UH-72A Lakota helicopters of the Army National Guard - Brief article

The Army National Guard was scheduled to receive the first of the new UH-72A Lakota light utility helicopters in June.

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The Lakota, a civilian commercial-off-the-shelf Eurocopter EC-145 will replace the aging OH-58 and UH-1 legacy aircraft and be dedicated to homeland security missions.

UH-72A program managers, along with EADS North America anti Sikorsky Support Services Inc., are conducting briefings and initial site surveys of National Guard facilities as they close in on dates for fielding the new aircraft, the helicopter's program manager, Army Lt. Col. Jim Brashear told National Defense.

The National Guard will eventually field 200 aircraft during the next eight years. The Lakota is unarmed and will be used exclusively in domestic airspace. Because it does not carry weapons or need protection to fly into combat, the Army chose a commercial aircraft.

The deployment is a rare good news story for Army aviation, which has faced delays procuring the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter, the combat-ready replacement for the OH-58...