The US Army has awarded Airbus a $27.8 million contract to modernize the Army National Guard Security and Support Battalion’s Mission Equipment Package (MEP).
The MEP upgrades expand the UH-72A Lakota’s capabilities for conducting day and night operations by providing an expanded movement map, enhanced digital interfaces, new displays, an airborne mission management system, and other system enhancements.
“This award provides pilots with greater functionality and capability to perform today’s demanding missions and further enhances the value of the Lakota as an Intelligence, surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) post for the National Guard,” said Scott Tumpak, Vice President of Airbus US Military Division Space and Defense.
MEP-equipped UH-72As are specifically designed to conduct National Guard operations on a variety of missions, including homeland security, counternarcotics, and border security. The Army contract includes retrofitting up to 50 Security and Support Battalion aircraft deployed throughout the United States. There are currently 107 in the fleet.
These aircraft are modified at the Airbus Helicopter Production Plant in Columbus, Mississippi, where more than 480 UH-72A and UH-72B Lakota, based on the H145, have been delivered to the US Army since 2006.
The contract will be managed by Airbus US Space & Defense. Airbus US Space & Defense, Inc., under a special security agreement, provides world-class satellite, laser communications, rotorcraft, and fixed-wing solutions for the most complex defense, security, space, and US intelligence agencies.
