Australian Army Aviation

The Australian Army Aviation (AAAvn) is a corps of the Australian Army, and was formed on July 1st 1968 with a strength of 106 officer pilots, although it has a history dating back to 1911, when the Minister of Defence at the time, Senator George Pearce, decided there should be a flying school in the Defence Department. The motto of the Australian Army Aviation corps is Vigilance.

The Aviation Corps utilises soldiers from various other Army corps. The Royal Australian Corps of Transport trains and provides air dispatchers, while the Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers trains aircraft structural fitters, who maintain aircraft life support equipment, and avionics technicians. Members of the Aviation Corps are entitled to wear a sky blue beret.

Aircraft Inventory

 * Boeing CH-47F Chinook x 10 (Heavy Lift Transport Helicopter)
 * Boeing AH-64Ev6 Apache Guardian x 0 (Attack Helicopter) - 32 on order
 * Eurocopter EC135 T2+ x 16 (Training/Utility Helicopter)
 * Eurocopter EC665 Tiger ARH x 22 (Attack Helicopter)
 * NHIndustries MRH90 Taipan x 48 (Utility/Transport Helicopter)
 * Sikorsky S-70A-9 Black Hawk x 34 (Special Operations Helicopter)