16th Aviation Brigade (Australia)

See also: 16th Brigade (Australia)

The 16th Aviation Brigade (16 Avn Bde) commands all the Australian Army aviation units and has technical control of the Army Aviation Training Centre reporting to Army Aviation Command.^[1][2] The Brigade was formed on 2 April 2002 by combining Headquarters Divisional Aviation (Operational Command) and Headquarters Aviation Support Group (Technical Command) and is headquartered in Enoggera Barracks, Queensland.^[2][3][4] It was originally named Headquarters 16th Brigade (Aviation) and was renamed to the 16th Aviation Brigade.^[3][5]

16th Aviation Brigade
Active	2002–present
Country	Australia
Branch	Army
Type	Aviation
Size	1,150 (active)[1] 150 (reserve)
Part of	Army Aviation Command
Garrison/HQ	Enoggera, Queensland
Insignia
Unit colour patch

The Army Aviation Training Centre (AAvnTC) based at Oakey is responsible for training and maintains a training fleet reporting separately to Army Aviation Command.^[1][6]

Organisation

As of 2023 the 16th Aviation Brigade consists of:^[4]

• 16th Aviation Brigade headquarters (Enoggera Barracks, Brisbane, Queensland)
  • 1st Aviation Regiment (armed reconnaissance helicopter, Robertson Barracks, Darwin, Northern Territory)
    • 161st Reconnaissance Squadron
    • 162nd Reconnaissance Squadron
    • Logistic Support Squadron
    • Technical Support Squadron
  • 5th Aviation Regiment (transport helicopter, RAAF Base Townsville, Townsville, Queensland)
    • A Squadron
    • B Squadron
    • C Squadron
    • Logistic Support Squadron
    • Technical Support Squadron
  • 6th Aviation Regiment (special forces transport helicopter, Holsworthy Barracks, Sydney)
    • 171st Special Operations Aviation Squadron
    • 173rd Special Operations Aviation Squadron
    • Support Squadron
  • 20th Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery (Unmanned Aerial Systems, Gallipoli Barracks, Enoggera)^[7]
    • 131st Battery
    • 132nd Battery
    • 133rd Battery (forming 2024)
    • Operational Support Battery
    • Combat Service Support Battery

Equipment

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Versions	In service
Boeing CH-47 Chinook	United States	Heavy-lift transport helicopter	CH-47F	10
Eurocopter Tiger	Europe	Attack and Reconnaissance helicopter	Tiger ARH	22[8]
Sikorsky S-70 Blackhawk	United States	Multi-role transport helicopter	S-70A-9	20[9]
NHIndustries NH90	Europe	Multi-role transport helicopter	MRH-90 Taipan	41

References

1. The Australian Army. Modernisation from Beersheba and Beyond (PDF). Commonwealth of Australia. 26 August 2014. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
2. Black Hawk 221 Board of Inquiry (PDF). Australian Defence Force. 25 January 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
3. Hastie, Lt-Col Andrew (11 September 2002). "New HQ for aviation brigade". Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper (1059 ed.). Canberra, Australia: Department of Defence. ISSN 0729-5685.
4. "16th Aviation Brigade". Australian Army. 9 March 2012. Archived from the original on 19 July 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
5. "Army aviation in Australia 1970–2015" (PDF). Australian Army. Australian Army Flying Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 October 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
6. "Army Aviation Command established". Department of Defence (Press release). 2 December 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
7. Cooper, Wade (3 June 2020). "What is Artillery Surveillance and Target Acquisition? | The Cove". The Cove. Australian Army. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
8. "Army's Tiger ARH achieves FOC". Australian Aviation. 12 May 2016. ISSN 0813-0876.
9. Kerr, Julian (2 December 2015). "Australian Army to extend Black Hawk service lives for special forces use". Jane 's Defence Weekly. Vol. 53, no. 4. Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.

Further reading

• Dennis, Peter; et al. (2008). The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History (Second ed.). Melbourne: Oxford University Press Australia & New Zealand. ISBN 978-0-19-551784-2.
• Gubler, Abraham (2008). "Army Aviation's New Decade of Growth". Asia Pacific Defence Reporter. 34 (5): 16–19. ISSN 1037-1427.