Nevada Army Guard welcomes last of the Lakota copters
It’s the last of the Lakotas.
Nevada Army National Guard leaders on Friday showed off their new, UH-72A Lakota helicopter, the last of 212 ordered by the Army and one of only 345 produced.
“It’s absolutely a fantastic aircraft. It’s a great enhancement for the state of Nevada,” Nevada’s adjutant general, Air Force Brig. Gen. Bill Burks, said during a tour of the helicopter at the North Las Vegas Airport. “I couldn’t be prouder that’s named after the Sioux Indian nation, Lakota, because they have a proud nation and this is going to be a proud helicopter for us in the state of Nevada.”
The twin-engine, four-bladed rotor helicopter joins the Nevada Guard’s fleet to serve as a first-response aircraft. The UH-72A replaces the Vietnam-era UH-1H Iroquois (Huey) and OH-58 Kiowa aircraft.
The UH-72A is designed to operate in a non-hostile environment. In its medical evacuation configuration, it accommodates a pilot, co-pilot, two patients, one medical attendant with equipment, and one additional passenger.
Nevada Army Guard spokesman Sgt. 1st Class Erick Studenicka said the helicopter will provide the Guard increased capabilities to respond to potential terrorism events, perform search-and-rescue and medical evacuation operations, and support damage assessment and counterdrug missions.
The UH-72A will conduct basic light utility helicopter missions and execute tasks as part of an integrated effort with other joint services, government agencies and nongovernmental organizations.
The aircraft had only 40 hours of operation prior to its delivery from a production plant near Columbus, Miss., when Chief Warrant Officer 3 Kevin Keeler and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Zack Glanz flew it on a pilot training mission over the Las Vegas Valley on Friday.
“It’s a phenomenal aircraft. It’s extremely responsive. It has enough power to accomplish the mission that’s it’s designed for,” Keeler said as he was preparing to depart. “For search-and-rescues, disaster relief, homeland security and homeland defense missions, this is the ideal aircraft.”
Besides more power, the Nevada Guard’s six Lakotas have more range than other helicopters in the fleet, which includes six Black Hawks, six Chinooks and six Kiowas.
“I can fly from here to Reno on one tank of gas,” Keeler said.
The unit cost for a UH-72A Lakota in 2014 dollars is $8.56 million, according to Pentagon figures cited in Aeroweb, the website of Aerospace & Defense Intelligence Report.
Burks said the National Guard has been looking to replace the OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopters. “The Army is getting rid of all their Kiowas this year and they’re actually replacing them with this version of the helicopter and also the Apache helicopter. So Nevada is very, very fortunate that we got what we got.”
Contact Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308. Find him on Twitter: @KeithRogers2.
