List of Australian Army aircraft
This is a list of all aircraft operated by the Australian Army since its formation.
Current

A Tiger helicopter
.jpg.webp)
A S-70 Blackhawk (left) and CH-47 Chinook (right)
Aircraft | Origin | Role | Versions | In service[1] | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Boeing CH-47 Chinook | ![]() |
Transport helicopter | CH-47F | 10 | One CH-47D was destroyed during operations in Afghanistan on 30 May 2011.[2] Two additional CH-47Ds ordered in December 2011 as attrition replacement and to boost heavy lift capability.[3] The last of 7 new CH-47Fs was delivered in September 2015 and the D models subsequently retired.[4] |
Eurocopter Tiger | ![]() |
Attack helicopter | Tiger ARH | 22 | |
Sikorsky S-70 Blackhawk | ![]() |
Utility helicopter | S-70A-9 | 35 | Transferred from the Royal Australian Air Force as UH-60L.[5] |
MRH 90 | ![]() |
Utility helicopter | TTH: Tactical Transport Helicopter | 40 |
Historic
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Aircraft type | Origin | Variant | Role | In service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
A50 AAI Aerosonde | Australia | Aerosonde Mk 2 | Surveillance | 2003 | Four aircraft. Deployed to the Solomon Islands during Operation Anode in 2003. Operated by the 131st surveillance and Target Acquisition Battery. |
AeroVironment Wasp III | United States | Wasp EA | Reconnaissance and battlefield surveillance | Current | Wasp entered service in 2014 for test and evaluation. the Wasp AE entered service with the Australian Army in 2018. |
Black Hornet Nano | Norway | PD-1000 Black Hornet | Reconnaissance and battlefield surveillance | Current | The Black Hornet entered service in 2014 for test and evaluation. |
Boeing Insitu ScanEagle | United States | Reconnaissance and battlefield surveillance | – 2012 | Obsolete, No longer operated by the Australian Army. Operated by the 20th Surveillance and Target Acquisition Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery | |
Elbit Systems Skylark | Israel | Skylark I | Reconnaissance and battlefield surveillance | Obsolete, no longer in service with the Australian Army. Replaced by the Wasp EA. | |
A43 AAI RQ-7 Shadow | United States | RQ-7B Shadow 2000 UAV | Reconnaissance and battlefield surveillance | 2012-current | 18 aircraft. The Shadow 200 entered service in 2012 replacing the ScanEagle. Operated by the 20th Surveillance and Target Acquisition Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery |
Phantom (unmanned aerial vehicle series) | China | Phantom 4 | Reconnaissance and battlefield surveillance | 2017– | 350 aircraft |

An Australian Army UH-1 Iroquois helicopter on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.
Fixed Wing Aircraft
Aircraft type | Origin | Variant | Role | Service period | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
A11 Auster Mark III | United Kingdom | Mk III MK V AOP.6 | Two-seat air observation post aircraft | 1944–1959 | 58 aircraft. Operated by the RAAF in support of the Australian Army. |
A98 Cessna 180 | United States | Model 180A Model 180D Model 180E | Two to four seat liaison, observation aircraft | 1959–1975 | 19 aircraft |
A14 Pilatus PC-6B Turbo-Porter | Switzerland | PC-6B Turbo Porter | Eight-seat reconnaissance, light transport aircraft | 1968–1992 | 19 aircraft |
Cessna L-19 Bird Dog | United States | O-1 Bird Dog | One or two-seat liaison, observation aircraft | 1967–1968 | Three aircraft on loan from the US Army. Operated by the 161st Independent Reconnaissance Flight (Australia) |
Beechcraft Queen Air | United States | A65 Queen Air B70 Queen Air | 1971–19?? | Four aircraft. Operated by the Australian Army Survey corps | |
A18 GAF Nomad | Australia | Nomad N22B Nomad N24A | Two-crew twin-engine utility transport, reconnaissance aircraft, capable of carrying 11 passengers | 1975–1995 | 22 aircraft |
A32 Beechcraft Super King Air | United States | (King Air B200, B200C and B300) | Twin-engine utility transport aircraft | 1997-current | 24 aircraft. Including leased civilian aircraft. |
Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante | Brazil | EMB 100P1 Bandeirante | 1995 only | Four aircraft were leased from Flight West Airlines. Operated by the 173rd Aviation Squadron (Australia) | |
De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter | Canada | DHC-6-320 Twin Otter | 1996–2004 | Three aircraft were leased from Hawker Pacific 1996. Operated by the 173rd Aviation Squadron (Australia) | |
CASA C-212 Aviocar | Spain | C-212-400 | 2007-current | Two aircraft leased from Skytraders since 2013 with two 212-200 formerly leased from Military Support Services.[6][7] Operated by the Australian Defence Force Parachuting School.[6] |
Helicopters
Aircraft type | Origin | Variant | Role | Service period | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
A22 Aerospatiale AS.350B Squirrel | France | AS.350B Squirrel | Two-crew light utility, training helicopter | 1990–1998 | 18 helicopters. Operated by the Australian Defence Force Helicopter School |
A1 Bell 47 Sioux | United States | Model 47G-2 Sioux Model 47G-2A Sioux Model 47G-3B1 Sioux | Three-seat light utility, training helicopter | 1960–1977 | 47 helicopters |
A17 Bell / CAC CA-32, OH-58A Kiowa | United States Australia | CAC CA-32, OH-58A Kiowa Model 206B-1 Kiowa | Light observation, reconnaissance helicopter | 1971–2018 | 64 helicopters. Including eight US built helicopters, which were leased to the Australian Army. |
A2 Bell UH-1 Iroquois | United States | UH-1H Iroquois | Multi-role utility transport helicopter | 1990–2007 | 25 helicopters. Transferred from the RAAF to the Australian Army in 1990 |
A17 Boeing CH-47 Chinook | United States | CH-47D Chinook CH-47F Chinook | Twin-rotor medium-lift transport helicopter | 1995-current | 18 helicopters |
A25 Sikorsky S-70 Blackhawk | United States | S-70A-9 Black Hawk | Four-crew multi-role battlefield support helicopter, capable of carrying 10 troops | 1990-current | 39 helicopters. Transferred from the RAAF to the Australian Army. |
A38 Eurocopter Tiger | Europe | Tiger ARH | Armed reconnaissance, attack helicopter | 2004-current | 22 helicopters |
A40 NHIndustries NH90 | Europe | TTH: Tactical Transport Helicopter | Utility transport helicopter | 2007-current | 40 helicopters |
Bell 412 | United States Canada | Bell 412 AB 412 | 2007-current | Two helicopters. Operated by the Army Aviation Training Centre |
List of Guided Missiles of the Australian Army
Model | Variants | Origin | Role | Service period | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
AGM-114 Hellfire | AGM-114K | United States | Air-to-surface anti-tank missile | Current | Carried by the Tiger ARH helicopter |
ENTAC | ENTAC | France | Wire-guided anti-tank missile | 1964–1985 | Replaced by the MILAN anti-tank missile in 1985. |
FGM-148 Javelin | United States | Man-portable fire and forget, guided anti-tank missile | 2006-Current | Prior to deploying to Afghanistan in 2001, the Special Air Service Regiment was equipped with the javelin. It entered service with infantry and cavalry units in 2006. | |
FIM-43 Redeye | FIM-43C Redeye | United States | Man-portable surface-to-air missile | 1973–1987 | Obsolete, no longer in service with the Australian Army. The Redeye was operated by the 16th Air Land Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery |
M712 Copperhead | United States | Cannon launched guided projectile | 1995– | Obsolete, no longer in service with the Australian Army | |
M982 Excalibur | United States Sweden | guided artillery shell | Current | ||
MILAN | France and Germany | Wire-guided anti-tank missile | 1984-1990s | Used by the infantry, mounted on vehicles. Obsolete, no longer in service with the Australian Army | |
RBS 70 | Sweden | Man-portable short-range surface-to-air missile | 1987-Current | Operated by the 16th Air Land Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery | |
Rapier | United Kingdom | Surface-to-air missile | 1979–2005 | Obsolete, no longer in service with Australian Army. The Rapier was operated by the 16th Air Land Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery | |
SMArt 155 | Germany | Guided artillery shell | 2007-current |
See also
Notes
- "World Military Aircraft Inventory", Aerospace Source Book 2007, Aviation Week & Space Technology, 15 January 2007.
- "Australian Chinook crashes in Afghanistan". Australian Aviation. 1 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
- "Defence to buy two more Chinook choppers". ninemsn. 12 December 2011. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
- "Australian Army receives final CH-47F Chinook". Australian Aviation. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
- Leoni 2007, pp. 250–256.
- "Defence". Skytraders. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
- "Army Constructiones Aeronauticas S A CASA 212 Aviocar". ADF-Serials. 26 January 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
References
- Leoni, Ray D. (2007). Black Hawk, The Story of a World Class Helicopter. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. ISBN 978-1-56347-918-2.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.