The UH-72 Lakota is a militarized version of the Eurocopter EC 145, built locally in the US by American Eurocopter. Designed to replace existing light helicopter designs used by the US Army such as the UH-1 and the UH-58, the Lakota had a long and troubled development history which began with the LHX program in the 1980s, which was later re-launched as the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH). The Lakota is essentially identical to the commercial EC 145, albeit with a radio and the ability to accommodate a wide variety of missions including utility transport, medical evacuation and personnel recovery, counter-narcotics, and training. Design features include composite rotor blades, a VARTOMS rotor system for increased quietness, and an all-glass cockpit. It is noticeably faster than the Huey, and more reliable thanks to its twin-engine layout. Carrying capacity is 8 troops or 2 stretchers, in addition to a sling load of nearly two tons. Production of the UH-72 is currently ongoing and it has not yet been used in combat. The only export customer is Thailand, with deliveries expected from 2015.

First deliveries of the UH-72A took place in December 2006 and full production commenced the following year. The standard production version is the only one so far manufactured but there have been various upgrade proposals including the UH-72B (based on the EC 145T2) as well as armed versions (AAS-72X) for the Armed Aerial Scout program.