Lakota: The New Army Helicopter

[unhappycamper]

Lakota: The New Army Helicopter
Army News Service | Barbara Cummings | February 20, 2008

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala - Rosebud Sioux tribal leaders joined the Army Feb. 5 to celebrate the proud name for a new Army helicopter - the UH-72A Lakota.

The Army's Utility Helicopter Project Office marked inception of the new Lakota helicopter fleet with a ceremony at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., attended by Rosebud Sioux tribal council president Rodney Bordeaux, his chief of staff and the tribe's chief, among others.

"It is a great honor to have our name out there now where people can see it," said Bordeaux. "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."

Twenty Lakota aircraft have been delivered ahead of schedule and are flying out of three bases in the United States. They are meeting the mission within budget requirements, project officials said, adding there are plans to expand operations to both Europe and Japan.

There was a reason behind the naming of the new helicopter, officials said. First, a Department of Defense regulation, DoD 4120-15, stipulates that the name of a new helicopter must be Native American in origin. The process began when the project office announced a search for candidates to the Program Executive Office for Aviation community. Supporting documentation was required to explain why the name submitted was a good candidate for this particular helicopter and how it fit the mission. Out of the names received, the search narrowed to three candidates: Crow, Lakota and Cherokee.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,162498,00.html?wh=news



uhc comment: Meet the $10,000,000 Lakota made by our good friends at BAE:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UH-72




I wonder how that little heat problem is coming along?? --> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/11/18/armys-new-26-billion-h_n_73182.html?view=print