Eurocopter UH-72A Lakota

What the Lakota is

The UH-72 Lakota is a twin-engine light utility helicopter built for the U.S. Army by Airbus Helicopters, formerly Eurocopter. It is a militarized version of the civil EC145, bought off the shelf rather than designed from scratch. Airbus first marketed it as the UH-145.

The Army uses it for missions inside the United States: medical evacuation, search and rescue, border and counter-drug support, VIP transport and, until 2026, initial pilot training. It is not a combat helicopter, and the Army says so plainly.

How the Lakota was chosen

The Light Utility Helicopter program began in early 2004. The Army wanted to replace the aging Bell UH-1H/V Huey and OH-58A/C Kiowa with an existing commercial design instead of paying for a new one.

In June 2006 the UH-145 won a contract worth about $3 billion. The Department of Defense designated it the UH-72A that August, and the first helicopter was delivered on December 11, 2006, in Columbus, Mississippi.

The name came the next day. Army leaders accepted the first aircraft in a ceremony with Joe Red Cloud, a chief of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, and the type was named Lakota in keeping with the Army’s tradition of Native American helicopter names.

What Lakotas are used for

The Army fact sheet describes a flexible response to homeland security needs, including search and rescue, reconnaissance and surveillance, and medical evacuation. The Army National Guard uses it for disaster relief, firefighting and state support, which frees Black Hawks for overseas deployment.

The Security and Support package adds an electro-optical and infrared sensor turret with a laser pointer, a moving map, a searchlight and a rescue hoist. Border patrol and counter-drug flights rely on that kit. Other versions carry stretchers for medevac or serve as opposing-force aircraft at Army combat training centers.

West Point received two Lakotas in January 2009 to replace UH-1H aircraft on VIP and cadet-support flights. The Navy has flown them at the Naval Test Pilot School since 2009.

Has the Lakota been in combat?

No. The Army states that the UH-72A is to be deployed only to non-combat, non-hostile environments. In 2013 the Army Chief of Staff said it was developed for domestic operations and was not considered deployable to combat zones.

The Pentagon looked at adding combat protection that year and called it unaffordable. The package would have cost about $780 million across the fleet and added about 774 pounds (351 kg) to each helicopter. A proposed armed scout version, the AAS-72X, lost its chance when the Army’s Armed Aerial Scout program was terminated.

Why the Army dropped it as a trainer

From 2015 the Lakota replaced the Bell TH-67 Creek at Fort Rucker, Alabama, and passed one million flight hours there in December 2025. Critics argued it was too much aircraft for the job, and a congressionally chartered commission found most instructor pilots thought the same.

On August 13, 2026, the Army awarded M1 Support Services the Flight School Next contract, worth up to $10 billion over as many as 26 years. The primary trainer is the Robinson R66, designated TH-66 Sage. Army officials called the Lakota too advanced and too expensive for the training role, a claim Airbus disputes.

Roughly 220 older UH-72A helicopters are expected to leave initial entry training. Their future after that has not been settled in the sources reviewed for this page.

UH-72A versus UH-72B

The UH-72A has a four-blade main rotor and a conventional tail rotor. The UH-72B, based on the civil H145, has a five-blade rotor, an enclosed Fenestron tail fan, more powerful engines, full-authority digital engine control and the Helionix avionics suite. Deliveries to the Army National Guard began in September 2021.

The Army is still buying the newer version. On August 14, 2026, it awarded Airbus a $115.4 million contract for 10 UH-72B helicopters, with options for two more, with the first deliveries due in 2027.

Explaining the numbers

The full specification table for the aircraft is on this page, so this section only covers the figures that need context.

The Lakota’s top speed is listed as 145 kt · 167 mph · 269 km/h. That is faster than the roughly 124-knot UH-1H it replaced, and it also gains an external hoist and a glass cockpit. The Huey keeps one advantage in medevac work, with room for three patients against the Lakota’s two.

The engines are listed as 2 × 738 shp · 550 kW. The two engines are Turbomeca Arriel 1E2 turboshafts, which is why the Lakota counts as a twin-engine type.

Early problems

An August 2007 test report found the Lakota effective for light utility missions but prone to overheating in the desert at Fort Irwin, California, when it had no air conditioning. The Army added vents in the doors, and some medevac and VIP aircraft now have air conditioning.

The first fatal accident came on December 20, 2010, when a Puerto Rico Army National Guard UH-72A crashed at sea off the island and all six people aboard died.

Who flies it

The U.S. Army is the main operator, with about 457 UH-72A and 18 UH-72B helicopters in service as of January 2025. Another source counts 479 Lakotas delivered since 2006, so the fleet is roughly 475 to 480.

The Navy flies a handful at its test pilot school. The only export customer listed is Thailand, whose army took delivery of six UH-72A aircraft by November 2015 under a $34 million contract.

Airbus assembles them at Columbus, Mississippi. In 2024 it also unveiled an unmanned UH-72B proposed for cargo flights, which carries the designation MQ-72C as of June 2025.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Lakota helicopters used for?

Medical evacuation, search and rescue, border and counter-drug surveillance, disaster response, VIP transport and, until 2026, initial pilot training. All of it is non-combat work, mostly inside the United States.

Has the Lakota helicopter been in combat?

No. The Army says the UH-72A is meant only for non-combat, non-hostile environments. Adding combat protection was judged unaffordable in 2013.

How much does a Lakota helicopter cost?

The Army has not published one clean flyaway price. The first order in 2006 was $43.1 million for 8 helicopters, and a 2018 order was $273 million for 35. Our arithmetic puts those at about $5.4 million and $7.8 million per aircraft, but both include support. The 2026 UH-72B contract averages $11.5 million per helicopter on the same basis, and Army Recognition notes that this is not a clean flyaway price.

How many Lakota helicopters are in service?

About 475 to 480 as of early 2025, almost all of them with the U.S. Army and the National Guard. That is 457 UH-72A and 18 UH-72B helicopters in Army service by one count, and 479 delivered by another.

Is the Lakota still being built?

Yes. In August 2026 the Army ordered 10 more UH-72B helicopters, with the first deliveries due in 2027.

What is the Lakota based on?

The Eurocopter EC145, a civil twin-engine helicopter. The UH-72A is that aircraft in Army paint with a military radio, and the UH-72B is based on the newer H145.