6th Aviation Regiment (Australia)

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6th Aviation Regiment
1st Commando Regiment soldier jumping out of an Australian Army blackhawk helicopter in 2013.jpg
A 1st Commando Regiment soldier jumping from a 171st Aviation Squadron Black Hawk helicopter in 2013
Active2008–current
CountryAustralia
BranchAustralian Army
TypeSpecial operations aviation
Part of16th Aviation Brigade
HeadquartersHolsworthy Barracks
Insignia
Unit colour patch6th Aviation Regiment (modern).png
Aircraft flown
Multirole helicopter

The 6th Aviation Regiment is one of the Australian Army's three Army Aviation regiments and was raised on 1 March 2008 to provide air mobility for the Australian Army Special Operations Command.[1][2]

The 6th Aviation Regiment, equipped with S70A Black Hawk and MRH 90 Taipan helicopters, forms part of the 16th Aviation Brigade and is headquartered at Luscombe Army Airfield, Holsworthy Barracks, Sydney which was vacated by 161st Reconnaissance Squadron of the 1st Aviation Regiment in 1995.[3][1][4]

History[]

In November 2004, 'A' Squadron of the 5th Aviation Regiment based at RAAF Base Townsville swapped designations with the 171st Operational Support Squadron.[2] The squadron separated from the 1st Aviation Regiment and was placed under the command of the 16th Aviation Brigade as an independent squadron and was re-designated as the "171st Aviation Squadron" to provide support to Special Operations Command.[5][2] From December 2006, the squadron commenced relocating to Luscombe Airfield.[6]

In March 2008, the 6th Aviation Regiment was raised following the implementation of a recommendation from the Board of Inquiry into the Crash of Black Hawk 221 and incorporated the 171st Aviation Squadron.[1][3][2]

In November 2009, the Australian Army transferred all fixed wing surveillance aircraft to the Royal Australian Air Force.[4] The 173rd Surveillance Squadron subsequently re-equipped with the Kiowa Light Utility Helicopter and re-roled as an Advanced Training Squadron for future Tiger ARH and MRH 90 Taipan pilots and was re-designated as the "173rd Aviation Squadron" based at Luscombe Airfield.[4][7] In 2013, the squadron converted to Black Hawk helicopters.[4]

Structure[]

The regiment comprises:[1]

Operations[]

Notable operations include:[citation needed]

  • Operation Queensland Flood Assist (2011 disaster assistance in South East Queensland)
  • 2012 support to PNG elections

Current aircraft[]

The regiment was planned to transition to the MRH 90 Taipan, an Australian variant of the NHI NH90, with the Black Hawk to be withdrawn from service by December 2013.[8][9] However, the MRH 90 Program encountered significant problems, and in particular, the NH90 had not been operated in a dedicated special operations role, delaying the withdrawal with the Chief of Army extending the service of 20 Black Hawks to 2022 to develop a special operations capable MRH90.[8][9]

This required developing a Fast Roping and Rappelling Extraction System (FRRES) and a gun mount for the cabin door.[8][9] The Taipan Gun Mount can fit either a M134D minigun or MAG 58 machine gun and when not in use can be moved into a outward stowed position to provide clearance to enable fast roping and rappelling.[10][11] In February 2019, under Plan Palisade the first two of 12 MRH90 helicopters were delivered to the regiment.[12][9][13]

Aircraft Origin Type Variant In service
Sikorsky S-70 Blackhawk  United States Multi-role transport helicopter S-70A-9 20[14]
NHI/Airbus Helicopters MRH 90 Taipan  France
 Germany
 Italy
 Netherlands 		Multi-role transport helicopter 2[12]

Future acquisitions[]

The government in the Defence White Paper 2016 announced an plan to acquire light helicopters for the regiment to enable special forces to insert, extract and provide fire support for small teams of special forces undertaking tasks ranging from tactical observation through to counter-terrorism missions, or hostage recovery, that are optimised for operating in dense urban environments and can be deployed in the Boeing C-17 Globemaster.[15][16]

Project Land 2097 Phase 4 will acquire a four tonne twin-engine helicopter with up to 18 helicopters to be purchased that will fulfil roles that the MRH 90 Taipan is unable to perform and that will be able to deploy quicker than both the retiring Black Hawk and the MRH 90 Taipan.[17][18][19] The helicopter will be required to be able to insert and/or extract six soldiers, to be fast-roping capable, to have a sniping position, to be fitted with a Forward-looking infrared (FLIR) and to have the option of arming with a machine gun.[18] A C-17 has to be capable of transporting four of the helicopters.[18] Requests for tender closed in July 2020 with three bids received.[20] Airbus Helicopters has partnered with Australian companies to form Team Nightjar to offer the H145M.[21] Babcock Australasia has partnered with Bell to offer the Bell 429.[22] Hawker Pacific has partnered with Bell to also offer the Bell 429.[20] Boeing decided not to offer the AH-6.[17] The delivery of the light helicopter is expected to commence in 2022–2023.[18]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "6th Aviation Regiment". Australian Army. 19 December 2016. Archived from the original on 20 March 2020.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Black Hawk 221 Board of Inquiry 2007–2008" (PDF). Australian Defence Force. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Gubler, Abraham (2008). "Army Aviation's New Decade of Growth". Asia Pacific Defence Reporter. 34 (5): 16–19.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Army aviation in Australia 1970–2015 Factsheet" (PDF). Australian Army. 24 February 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2017.
  5. ^ "1st Aviation Regiment". Australian Army. 19 December 2016. Archived from the original on 20 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Aircrews fly high at new work site". Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper (1160 ed.). Canberra: Department of Defence. 22 February 2007. ISSN 0729-5685. Archived from the original on 4 April 2011.
  7. ^ Brooke, Michael (18 March 2010). "Team effort raises sqn" (PDF). Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper (1231 ed.). Canberra, Australia: Department of Defence. ISSN 0729-5685. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c Kerr, Julian (1 February 2016). "Air: MRH90 Taipan – reaching for 2016 milestones". Australian Defence Magazine. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Australian National Audit Office (2020). "Multi-Role Helicopter Project Data Summary Sheet". 2019–20 Major Projects Report – Department of Defence (PDF). Canberra: The Auditor-General. ISBN 9781760336066. ANAO Report No.19 2020–21. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  10. ^ Department of Defence (21 April 2020). "Additional Estimates – 04 March 2020 – Question 84 – MRH90 design – Senator Kitching". Senate Standing Committee Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  11. ^ Tillett, Andrew (27 October 2020). "Army helicopter's gun failings leave special forces vulnerable". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b Jennings, Gareth (6 February 2019). "Australia begins SOF helo transition from Black Hawk to MRH90". Janes. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  13. ^ Department of Defence (2018). Budget Related Paper No. 1.4A – Defence Portfolio (PDF). Portfolio Budget Statements 2018-19. Department of Defence. p. 134. ISBN 9780648097730. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  14. ^ Kerr, Julian (2 December 2015). "Australian Army to extend Black Hawk service lives for special forces use". Jane 's Defence Weekly (53.4). Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  15. ^ Department of Defence. 2016 Defence Whitepaper (PDF). Department of Defence. p. 100. ISBN 9780994168054. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  16. ^ Department of Defence. 2016 Integrated Investment Program (PDF). Department of Defence. pp. 100–101. ISBN 9780994168061. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b McLaughlin, Andrew (6 August 2020). "Army seeking special operations rotary wing support capability". Australian Defence Business Review.
  18. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Ziesing, Katherine (5 September 2019). "Special Forces helicopter: Industry brief for Land 2097 Phase 4". Australian Defence Magazine. Canberra. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  19. ^ Burr, CA Lt. Gen. Richard (27 October 2020). "Hansard Tuesday 27 October 2020 Defence Portfolio". Senate Standing Committee Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade. Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b Pittaway, Nigel (9 July 2020). "And then there were three – Land 2097 bidders". Australian Defence Magazine. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  21. ^ "Airbus forms Team Nightjar to deliver Australian industry capability". Airbus (Press release). 10 July 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  22. ^ "Babcock Selects Bell for Special Forces Helicopter Bid". Babcock (Press release). 28 May 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
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