Airbus is proposing the military version of H145 helicopter, as unmanned UH-72 Lakota to the USMC.
According to Aviation Week, the five-blade UH-72B model for the USMC’s VTOL logistics connection programme may carry payloads of up to 4,000 pounds and be operational by the decade’s end.
Airbus will also provide this type of helicopter to the United States Army.
The U.S. Airbus military fleet now consists of 223 UH-72A Lakotas for U.S. Army training and 212 in various missions in the National Guard.
The entire Lakota fleet has flown 1.5 million hours. The manufacturer continued modernising the UH-72A and B, adding features such as a gearbox that could shift for 30 minutes without oil and a bearingless rotor system.
These studies were undertaken amid uncertainties about the United States Army’s long-term plans for the Lakota, as well as adjustments to modernisation plans following the cancellation of the Future Reconnaissance and Strike Aircraft (FARA) and the end of manufacturing of the Sikorsky UH-60V Black Hawk.
Airbus proposes unmanned UH-72 helicopters to USMC
