Active 1966–Present Branch Army Role Attack Reconnaissance | Country Australia Type Aviation Size Regiment | |
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The 1st Aviation Regiment is an Australian Army aviation unit and is part of the 16th Aviation Brigade.
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The Regiment was formed on 26 April 1966 as the 1st Division Army Aviation Regiment and was re-designated the 1st Aviation Regiment in March 1967. While the Regiment has historically operated a mix of fixed-wing aircraft and in late 2004 the unit re-organised for its new role that will accompany its new aircraft, the Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter.
As part of this restructure, 171st Operational Support Squadron and 173rd Surveillance Squadron were placed as direct command units of 16th Aviation Brigade.
During 2005 and 2006, the Regiment consolidated all of the remaining squadrons into one location for the first time, at Gaza Lines, in Darwin’s Robertson Barracks.
In 2012 after three incidents with cockpit fumes that endangered aircrew, pilots voted to not fly until all safety concerns were addressed.
The 1st Aviation Regiment reached its final operating capability with the Tigers on 18 April 2016. This process took much longer than expected, due in part to the complexity of the helicopters and shortages of spare parts. The 2016 Defence White Paper stated that the Tigers would be retired early, and be replaced with different aircraft during the mid-2020s.
Current organisation
The regiment is currently organised as follows: