Aviation-related unit of a nation's army
An
army aviation
unit is an
aviation
-related unit of a nation's
army
, sometimes described as an
air corps
. These units are generally separate from a nation's dedicated
air force
, and usually comprise
helicopters
and light support
fixed-wing aircraft
. Prior to the establishment of separate national air forces, many armies had
military aviation
units, which as the importance of aviation increased, were spun off into independent services. As the separation between a nation's army and air force led to a divergence of priorities, many armies sought to re-establish their own aviation branches to best serve their own organic tactical needs.
History
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Military aviation
first began as either army or
naval aviation
units established as force multipliers to allow armies and navies to better do what they were already doing, this taking mostly the form of
reconnaissance
and
artillery spotting
, this led to the first fighter aircraft whose purpose was to shoot down enemy reconnaissance and artillery spotting aircraft, and to protect one's own aircraft from being shot down. At this point the purpose of aircraft was still to act as an adjunct to traditional armies and fleets operating in the traditional way. However, as aircraft became more technologically sophisticated military theorists of the interwar period began to think of
airpower
as a means in and of itself where the critical blow could be delivered by
strategic bombing
, and the experience of World War II confirmed this. Post World War II air forces such as the
Royal Air Force
and the newly established
United States Air Force
concentrated on building strategic bomber forces for attack and fighter forces to defend against enemy bombers. Air forces still incorporated a significant amount of
tactical missions
through
air interdiction
and
close air support
missions.
In order to acquire a close air support capability armies sought to expand, establish or re-establish their own tactical aviation branches, which are usually composed of helicopters, rather than fixed-wing aircraft.
With the development of
unmanned aerial vehicles
some armies have begun to use small
battlefield UAVs
, not attached to army aviation units, but rather directly attached to artillery battalions as spotters, and with the smallest and lightest drones being deployed by individual infantry platoons to provide real time local reconnaissance.
Tasks
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The tasks of each army's aviation units are defined slightly different, depending on country. Some general characteristics include:
Equipment
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In order to fulfill their manifold tasks, army aviation mostly uses helicopters. These helicopters can be classified into the following categories:
In addition to helicopters, some armies also operate fixed-wing aircraft for tactical reconnaissance.
List of army aviation units
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See also
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References
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Further reading
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- Allen, Matthew (1993),
Military helicopter doctrines of the major powers, 1945-1992. Making decisions about air-land warfare
, Westport (CT): Greenwood,
ISBN
0-313-28522-5
- Gunston, Bill (1981),
An illustrated guide to military helicopters
, New York: Arco Publishing,
ISBN
0-668-05345-3
- Halberstadt, Hans (1990),
Army Aviation
, Novato (CA): Presidio,
ISBN
0-89141-251-4
- Sutton, John; Walker, John (1990),
From horse to helicopter. Transporting the British Army in war and peace
, London: Cooper,
ISBN
0-85052-724-4
- Warner, Guy; Boyd, Alex (2004),
Army Aviation in Ulster
, Newtownards, Co. Down: Colourpoint Books,
ISBN
1-904242-27-8
- Young, Ralph B. (2000),
Army aviation in Vietnam. An illustrated history of unit insignia, aircraft camouflage and markings
, Ramsey (NJ): Huey Co.,
ISBN
0-9671980-1-1
External links
[
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Media related to
Army aviation
at Wikimedia Commons