16th Aviation Brigade
Active2002–present
CountryAustralia
BranchArmy
TypeAviation
Size1,150 (active)[1]
150 (reserve)
Part ofArmy Aviation Command
Garrison/HQEnoggera, Queensland
Insignia
Unit colour patch

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]

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]

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[7]
Sikorsky S-70 Blackhawk  United States Multi-role transport helicopter S-70A-9 20[8]
NHIndustries NH90  Europe Multi-role transport helicopter MRH-90 Taipan 41

References

  1. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b Black Hawk 221 Board of Inquiry (PDF). Australian Defence Force. 25 January 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  3. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "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. ^ "Army's Tiger ARH achieves FOC". Australian Aviation. 12 May 2016. ISSN 0813-0876.
  8. ^ 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

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