“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.”