Yesterday, Airbus U.S. Space & Defense Chief Executive Officer, Robert Geckle, travelled to Texas to meet with service members supporting Task Force-Southern Border.

During his visit, Geckle spoke with Soldiers assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 140th Aviation Regiment, to better understand the mission, environment, and maintenance requirements of operating Airbus UH-72 Lakota Helicopters on the southern border.

Airbus produces the UH-72 Lakota helicopter, which is currently supporting Task Force-Southern Border’s operations and has supported homeland defense missions at and around the border for over a dozen years.

“Our mission is to support U.S. Warfighters, and seeing first-hand how the Lakota responds to this mission-set and environment was extremely important to me,” said Geckle. “Listening to Soldiers’ feedback will translate directly into ways we can improve the helicopter’s performance and maintenance as this mission continues to evolve.”

While at Dona Ana Airport, where Task Force-Southern Border has one of its Lakota detachments, Geckle met with the command team, took part in a Mission Equipment Package capabilities review, discussed sustainment practices, and spoke with a variety of Lakota aircrew members.

Today, the U.S. Army and Army National Guard use Lakota helicopters to perform essential training and real-world missions year-round across 49 U.S. states and territories. The UH-72 Lakota fleet recently surpassed 1.7 million flight hours across U.S. Army, U.S. Army National Guard, and U.S. Navy units.

Airbus delivered the first Lakota helicopter to the U.S. Army in 2006, and currently represents the third largest fleet in the U.S. Army.  A fleet of 221 UH-72As that serve as the primary training helicopters for Army aviators at Fort Novosel and the remaining 240 UH-72A and 18 UH-72B Lakota aircraft support Army National Guard operations including border security, counter drug, search and rescue, disaster response and command and control.

U.S. Northern Command is working together with the Department of Homeland Security to augment U.S. Customs and Border Protection along the southern border with additional military forces. This initial deployment of more than 1,600 active-duty personnel brings the total military Title 10 forces along the border to nearly 4,000 personnel.

For additional images see here: Image 1, Image 2