“The program has proven invaluable to our national
security, and the multi-mission capabilities offered by
the Lakota only increase the demand for them around the
country,” Bryant said.
“American Eurocopter is an American success story that
demonstrates Mississippi as a premier destination for
high-tech manufacturing,” said Wicker, a senior member
of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “Budget
constraints in Washington have led to reductions in
defense spending. However, I believe those cuts should
be focused on wasteful spending and not on programs like
the Lakota that are vital to national security.”
“At a time when the Department of Defense has hard
spending choices to make, a program like the Lakota
should be the last one singled out for reduction,” Rep.
Harper said. “The Lakota has the lowest cost to buy, own
or operate of any military helicopter in production.”
Rep. Nunnelee praised the American workforce that
delivers the Lakota, more than half of whom are veterans
or currently serve in the National Guard or Reserves.
“As a nation, we should be working hard to create new
job opportunities for our veterans, not slashing
programs that employ them. The men and women who build
the Lakota have honored all their commitments, in
uniform and on the assembly line, and they have earned
the opportunity to finish the job they’ve started,”
Nunnelee stated.
The Army, National Guard and Navy have applauded the
capabilities and performance of the Lakota. The highly
adaptable aircraft has been delivered in many different
configurations, for missions including border security,
search and rescue, medical evacuation, pilot training
and personnel and cargo transport missions. National
Guard crews have praised the aircraft’s performance in
missions flown on the U.S.-Mexico border conducting
surveillance for drug and human trafficking.
“The Lakota continues to serve well in the role that the
Army and National Guard envisioned for it, and it can
easily and affordably be modified to serve in a wider
range of missions, including forward deployment to
combat zones,” said Sean O’Keefe, EADS North America
Chairman and CEO. “Yet it costs a fraction as much to
buy and to operate as any other aircraft available to
meet the mission.”
“Our customer, the U.S. Army, is pleased with our work,”
said Marc Paganini, President and Chief Executive of
American Eurocopter. “We have provided an aircraft that
performs every day with a more than 90 percent
availability rate. That is unheard of across other Army
aviation platforms. We recognize our employees for the
outstanding work they do in equipping the men and women
of the U.S. military with the best aircraft possible.”
American Eurocopter also was honored at the rally by
the Golden Triangle Development LINK agency as its
first regional Industry of the Year. “American
Eurocopter was one of the first major industries we
landed when the LINK was formed,” said Joe Max
Higgins, Jr., Chief Executive of LINK. “They’ve been
an outstanding partner over the past decade, and
we’re honored to support them as they fight to keep
jobs in our community.”
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