EADS to supply helicopters for US Army

North America has marked its debut as the prime contractor for a

military contract with a deal to supply 352 Light Utility Helicopters (LUH) worth $3 billion to the US Army.

"This success confirms EADS as a respected partner on the US defence market and strongly supports two of our long-term strategic goals; to balance our portfolio by enhancing our defence business in key international markets and to participate in these markets through local investments and industrial partnerships," said EADS CEOs Tom Enders and Noël Forgeard.

"Programmes such as the UH-145 clearly demonstrate that transatlantic defence cooperation is a win-win situation for all parties."

EADS North America leads a UH-145 team of companies that includes four primary partners, among them its American Eurocopter business unit, which will handle the helicopter’s production, assembly and delivery. the others are Sikorsky Aircraft, WestWind Technologies and CAE USA. Production of the UH-145, a version of Eurocopter’s EC145 multi-mission helicopter, will take place in the US.