1st Aviation Brigade (United Kingdom)
1st Aviation Brigade | |
---|---|
Active | 1 April 2020–present [1] |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | British Army |
Type | Army aviation |
Role | Attack Reconnaissance |
Part of | Joint Helicopter Command |
Garrison/HQ | AAC Middle Wallop |
Motto(s) | Fly, Fight, Lead[2] |
Commanders | |
Current commander | Brigadier Paul Tedman[3] |
Aircraft flown | |
Attack | Apache AH1 |
Reconnaissance | Gazelle AW159 Wildcat |
The 1st Aviation Brigade is an aviation brigade of the British Army.[4] Most of its units are from the Army Air Corps (AAC). It was stood up on 1 April 2020 by combining the Wattisham Flying Station Headquarters (WFS HQ), formerly the Attack Helicopter Force (AHF) at Wattisham and the Aviation Reconnaissance Force at the Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton.[4][5][6] It will reach initial operating capability on 1 April 2021 and full operating capability by 1 January 2023.[7]
Structure[]
As of May 2021 the units of the brigade are as follows:[8]
- Headquarters, 1st Aviation Brigade, at AAC Middle Wallop
- 1 Regiment Army Air Corps, at RNAS Yeovilton (Aviation Reconnaissance, equipped with AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat)
- 3 Regiment Army Air Corps, at Wattisham Flying Station (Aviation Attack, equipped with AgustaWestland Apaches)
- 4 Regiment Army Air Corps, at Wattisham Flying Station (Aviation Attack, equipped with AgustaWestland Apaches)
- 5 Regiment Army Air Corps, at Joint Helicopter Command Flying Station Aldergrove, Aldergrove (Northern Ireland aviation support, equipped with Aérospatiale Gazelles)
- 6 Regiment Army Air Corps (Army Reserve), at Blenheim Camp, Bury St Edmunds[9] (Ground Crew Reserve)
- 47 Regiment Royal Artillery, at Larkhill operating Watchkeeper Unmanned Air Systems,[10] since April 2021.[11]
- No. 653 Squadron, Army Air Corps, at Wattisham Flying Station (Conversion Training Unit)
- 7 Aviation Support Battalion REME, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers,[10] at Wattisham Flying Station[12]
See also[]
Footnotes[]
- ^ "Army establishes its 1st Aviation Brigade". British Army. 5 May 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
- ^ "British Army Launches First Ever Aviation Brigade". Forces Net. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
- ^ Mackie, Colin (1 June 2020). "Generals current June 2020" (PDF). gulabin.com. Colin Mackie. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
Brigadier Paul T. Tedman (late Army Air Corps): Deputy Commander, Joint Helicopter Command, October 2019, and Commander,1st Aviation Brigade, April 2020
- ^ a b "Army establishes its 1st Aviation Brigade". British Army (Press release). 5 May 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
- ^ "The Eagle Spring 2020 edition" (PDF). The Eagle. Wattisham. 1 April 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
- ^ Ripley, Tim (6 April 2020). "UK forms aviation brigade". IHS Janes. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
- ^ "British Army Newsletter Issue 5" (PDF). British Army. 9 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
- ^ Watling & Bronk, pp. 27.
- ^ "Army Air Corps". www.army.mod.uk. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- ^ a b Cooper, Tim. "Watchkeeper: Up Close With The UK-Built Drone That's Been Used In Afghanistan". Forces Network. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
- ^ "British Army Newsletter Issue 5" (PDF). British Army. 9 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
- ^ "The Craftsman: Magazine of the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers". Issu. 31 January 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "The Sustainer: Royal Logistic Corps Regimental Magazine". Isssuu. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
References[]
- Watling, Jack; Bronk, Justin (2021). Occasional Paper: Maximising the Utility of the British Army's Combat Aviation. Whitehall, London, United Kingdom: Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies.
- "Army, Question for Ministry of Defence — current Order of Battle by manpower and basing locations for the corps". United Kingdom Parliament — Written questions, answers, and statements. 22 November 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Categories:
- Brigades of the British Army
- Aviation units and formations of the British Army
- Army aviation brigades
- Military units and formations established in 2020
- 2020 establishments in the United Kingdom