Army aviation

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An army aviation unit is an aviation-

related unit of a nation's army,
sometimes described as an air corps.
These units are generally separate from
a nation's dedicated air force, and
usually comprise helicopters and light
support fixed-wing aircraft. Prior to the
establishment of separate national air
forces, many armies had military aviation
units, which as the importance of
aviation increased, were spun off into
independent services. As the separation
between a nation's army and air force
led to a divergence of priorities, many
armies sought to re-establishe their own
aviation branches to best serve their own
organic tactical needs.
 Army aviation

U.S. soldiers in OH-58D Kiowa and AH-64

Apache helicopters conduct a combat air
patrol in Iraq

History
Military aviation first began as either
army or naval aviation units established
as force multipliers to allow armies and
navies to better do what they were
already doing, this taking mostly the form
of reconnaissance and artillery spotting,
this led to the first fighter aircraft whose
purpose was to shoot down enemy
reconnaissance and artillery spotting
aircraft, and to protect one's own aircraft
from being shot down. At this point the
purpose of aircraft was still to act as an
adjunct to traditional armies and fleets
operating in the traditional way.
However, as aircraft became more
technologically sophisticated military
theorists of the interwar period began to
think of airpower as a means in and of
itself where the critical blow could be
delivered by strategic bombing, and the
experience of World War II confirmed
this. Post World War II air forces such as
the Royal Air Force and the newly
established United States Air Force
concentrated on building strategic
bomber forces for attack and fighter
forces to defend against enemy
bombers. Air forces still incorporated a
significant amount of tactical missions
through air interdiction and close air
support missions.

In order to acquire a close air support

capability armies sought to expand,
establish or re-establish their own
tactical aviation branches, which are
usually composed of helicopters, rather
than fixed-wing aircraft.

With the development of unmanned

aerial vehicles some armies have begun
to use small battlefield UAVs, not
attached to army aviation units, but
rather directly attached to artillery
battalions as spotters, and with the
smallest and lightest drones being
deployed by individual infantry platoons
to provide real time local
reconnaissance.

Tasks
Soldiers rappelling (abseiling) from a JGSDF UH-
1H in 2007

A Defender command and control, surveillance

and transport aircraft, of the British Army Air Corps

A CH-53G helicopter of the German Army Aviation

 p y
Corps during Operation Provide Comfort in
Northern Iraq

A French Army Light Aviation Eurocopter Cougar

in Afghanistan

An Indian Army HAL Dhruv helicopter deploying

US troops during a joint exercise
The tasks of each army's aviation units
are defined slightly different, depending
on country. Some general characteristics
include:

Tactical offensive action (Anti-tank

warfare, air assault, and fire support[1]
ISTAR (Intelligence, Surveillance,
Target acquisition, Reconnaissance)[1]
Logistic and battlefield support
Tactical transport both internally and
externally, of personnel and material
Search and rescue
Medical evacuation
Liaison
 Disaster relief

Equipment
In order to fulfill their manifold tasks,
army aviation mostly uses helicopters.
These helicopters can be classified into
the following categories:

Attack helicopters for close air support

of ground troops and anti-tank role
Transport helicopters
Observation helicopters
Utility helicopters
CSAR, Casualty Evacuation
(CASEVAC)/MEDEVAC helicopters
 Training helicopters

In addition to helicopters, some armies

also operate fixed-wing aircraft for
tactical reconnaissance.

By country

An Argentine Army Cessna T-41D Mescalero AE-

054, in 2009

Argentine Army Aviation (Argentine

Army)
Army Air Corps (United Kingdom)
(British Army)
Army Aviation Corps (India) (Indian
Army)
Australian Army Aviation (Australian
Army)
Bangladesh Army Aviation Group
(Bangladesh Army)
Brazilian Army Aviation Command
(Brazilian Army)
Colombian National Army Aviation
(Colombian Army)
French Army Light Aviation (French
Army)
German Army Aviation Corps (German
Army)
Hellenic Army Aviation (Hellenic Army)
Indonesian Army Aviation Command
(Indonesian Army)
Islamic Republic of Iran Army Aviation
(Islamic Republic of Iran Army)
Malaysian Army Aviation (Malaysian
Army)
Nepalese Army Air Service (Nepal
Army)
Pakistan Army Aviation Corps
(Pakistan Army)
Portuguese Army Light Aviation Unit
(Portuguese Army)
 Spanish Army Airmobile Force
(Spanish Army)
United States Army Aviation Branch
(U.S. Army)

See also
Military aviation
Timeline of military aviation
Naval aviation

References
1. "Army Aviation Role" . British Army.
Retrieved 1 August 2016.

Further reading
Allen, Matthew (1993), Military
helicopter doctrines of the major
powers, 1945-1992. Making decisions
about air-land warfare, Westport (CT):
Greenwood, ISBN 0-313-28522-5
Gunston, Bill (1981), An illustrated
guide to military helicopters , New
York: Arco Publishing, ISBN 0-668-
05345-3
Halberstadt, Hans (1990), Army
Aviation, Novato (CA): Presidio,
ISBN 0-89141-251-4
Sutton, John; Walker, John (1990),
From horse to helicopter. Transporting
the British Army in war and peace,
 London: Cooper, ISBN 0-85052-724-
4
Warner, Guy; Boyd, Alex (2004), Army
Aviation in Ulster, Newtownards, Co.
Down: Colourpoint Books, ISBN 1-
904242-27-8
Young, Ralph B. (2000), Army aviation
in Vietnam. An illustrated history of unit
insignia, aircraft camouflage and
markings, Ramsey (NJ): Huey Co.,
ISBN 0-9671980-1-1

External links
Media related to Army aviation at
Wikimedia Commons
Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Army_aviation&oldid=943899160"

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