Army aviation

Army aviation
U.S. soldiers in OH-58D Kiowa and AH-64 Apache helicopters conduct a combat air patrol in Iraq

Soldiers rapelling from a JGSDF UH-1H in 2007

A Defender surveillance aircraft, of the British Army Air Corps

CH-53G helicopter of the German Army Aviators Corps during Operation Provide Comfort in Northern Iraq

French Army Light Aviation Eurocopter Cougar in Afghanistan

Indian Army HAL Dhruv helicopter deploying US troops during joint exercise

An army aviation unit is an aviation-related unit of a nation's army, often 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.

Tasks

The tasks of each army's aviation units are defined slightly different, depending on nationality. Some general characteristics, however, apply to all army aviation units regardless of provenience:

• Logistic and battlefield support
• Tactical transport both internally and externally, of personnel and material
• Assault duties and anti-tank warfare
• Search and rescue
• Medical evacuation
• Reconnaissance and fire support in a combined arms team
• Surveillance
• Liaison
• Flying training
• Disaster relief

Equipment

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

• 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

List of national army aviation components

• Argentine Army Aviation
• Army Air Corps (United Kingdom)
• German Army Aviation Corps
• Army Aviation Corps (India)
• Australian Army Aviation
• Brazilian Army Aviation Command
• Colombian National Army Aviation
• French Army Light Aviation
• Indonesian Army Aviation
• Iranian Army Aviation
• Italian Army Aviation
• Malaysian Army Aviation
• Nepalese Army Air Service
• Portuguese Army Light Aviation Unit
• Pakistan Army Aviation Corps
• Spanish Army Airmobile Force
• United States Army Aviation Branch
• 1st Army Aviation Brigade (Greece)

See also

• Military aircraft
• Timeline of military aviation

Further reading

• Allen, Matthew (1993). "Military helicopter doctrines of the major powers, 1945-1992. Making decisions about air-land warfare". Greenwood. ISBN 0-313-28522-5. 
• Gunston, Bill (1981). "An illustrated guide to military helicopters". Arco Publishing. ISBN 0-668-05345-3. 
• Halberstadt, Hans (1990). "Army Aviation". Presidio. ISBN 0-89141-251-4. 
• Sutton, John; Walker, John (1990). "From horse to helicopter. Transporting the British Army in war and peace". Cooper. ISBN 0-85052-724-4. 
• Warner, Guy; Boyd, Alex (2004). "Army Aviation in Ulster". 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". Huey Co.. ISBN 0-9671980-1-1.