German Army Aviation
The Heeresfliegertruppe is the German army’s own air arm: about 4,400 people, three flying regiments, one school and roughly 170 helicopters, and the only part of the Bundeswehr that has been in combat almost continuously since 1993. It is also the branch that has been taken apart and put back together more often than any other. It gave the CH-53 to the Luftwaffe in 2013 and took the NH90 in exchange; it bought 80 Eurocopter Tigers and will retire them without ever fielding a full regiment of them; and it is now buying up to 72 Airbus H145M light attack helicopters as a stopgap while Germany decides, for the third time since 1978, what an attack helicopter is for.
The Heeresflieger story: the branch that keeps being taken apart
1955–1959: Niedermendig, a Dornier and a branch that had to be invented
The Bundeswehr’s army aviation did not inherit anything. The Wehrmacht had no army air arm at all — Hermann Göring claimed every flying machine in Germany for his Luftwaffe, down to the navy’s — so when Oberst Horst Pape was made the army’s adviser on aviation questions in 1954 he was designing a branch from a blank sheet. The first Dornier Do 27 was handed to Heeresfliegerstaffel 811 at Niedermendig on 14 January 1957, the first German production aeroplane built after the war; the Heeresfliegerkommando 801 stood up there on 1 March 1957; and the first flying unit followed in May. Everything else was bought in small lots and tried out: 45 Bell 47G-2, six Djinns, ten Skeeters, 32 Vertol H-21 Shawnees, a batch of Sikorsky H-34s. Niedermendig, Celle and Fritzlar were the first fields with regular flying.
1959–1972: the Alouette, the Huey and the day the CH-53 arrived
The Do 27 lasted barely two years as the army’s main aircraft. In 1959 it was displaced by 130 newly bought Alouette IIs, the type that would teach two generations of German army pilots to fly and stay in service until 2006 — 300 of them in the end. The weapons school opened at Niedermendig in 1959 and moved to Bückeburg in January 1960, where it still is. The UH-1D came to the school in 1963 and to the regiments in 1967, and 356 of them were eventually bought for the Bundeswehr; the Germans called it the Teppichklopfer, the carpet-beater, for the noise. Then on 26 July 1972 the first Sikorsky CH-53G was formally handed to the army. One hundred and twelve were bought, all but the first two built under licence in Germany, and they gave the Heeresflieger something no other European army had.
1972–1990: 312 Bo 105s, the HOT missile and the anti-tank regiments
What shaped the branch was the Warsaw Pact’s tank fleet. The answer was the MBB Bo 105, a small, agile, hingeless-rotor helicopter that Germany bought in quantities nobody has matched since: 212 of the Bo 105 P anti-tank version, the PAH-1, with six HOT missiles on outriggers, plus 100 of the unarmed Bo 105 M liaison and observation version. From 1979 three anti-tank regiments were raised — 16 at Celle, 26 at Roth, 36 at Fritzlar — each with about 50 PAH-1s, to be flown in swarms of four through tree lines at Warsaw Pact armoured spearheads. It was a brutal tactic. The PAH-1 had no gun, no armour and no defence against artillery or rifle fire; the plan was to shoot from maximum range and dive back into the trees. Nobody in the branch pretended the loss rate would be tolerable.
1990–2002: Hinds in German markings, the first deployments and the long shrinking
The Cold War ended before the tactic was tested, and the branch spent the 1990s absorbing one army and dismantling most of itself. On 3 October 1990 the Nationale Volksarmee’s Armeefliegerkräfte came with it: 51 Mil Mi-24 gunships from the Kampfhubschraubergeschwader 3 at Cottbus and 5 at Basepohl, 91 Mi-8s and 25 Mi-2s. The Mi-24s were flown briefly by Heeresfliegerstaffel Ost and Heeresfliegerstaffel 80, tested by the Wehrtechnische Dienststelle 61, and withdrawn by 1993; eighteen went to Poland and one each went to the United States Army for threat training. Meanwhile the deployments began: Kurdish relief in 1991, UNSCOM in Iraq, Somalia in 1993, IFOR in Croatia in 1996, KFOR from 1999. And the shrinking began too — of ten Cold War regiments, three survive.
2002–2021: Kabul, Kunduz, Gao — and the 2013 divorce from the CH-53
Afghanistan is the branch’s defining campaign and its worst day. German CH-53s arrived in April 2002 and left on 28 January 2021, 22,500 flying hours later; on 21 December 2002 one came down near Kabul airport after a gearbox failure and killed seven German soldiers, the worst single loss the Bundeswehr had suffered abroad. Four Tigers deployed in December 2012 and flew 1,860 hours; NH90 medical evacuation helicopters followed in April 2013. Then, in the middle of the war, the branch was reorganised: the Fähigkeitstransfer Hubschrauber, agreed in 2012 and effective on 1 January 2013, gave every CH-53 to the Luftwaffe and every NH90 to the army. Two medium transport regiments were disbanded. A great deal of engineering knowledge went with them, and the Luftwaffe spent years rebuilding it.
2023–2026: the Tiger is cancelled, the H145M arrives, three battalions are promised
The Tiger was supposed to be the answer for thirty years and it is being cancelled. Eighty were ordered, 68 delivered by July 2018, 51 kept flying, and in May 2023 the ministry decided not to modernise them at all: the type leaves operational service by 2032. In its place the Bundeswehr ordered 62 Airbus H145M light attack helicopters in December 2023 under the Sondervermögen and 20 more in November 2025 — 82 in all, 72 of them for the army, for about 3.7 billion euros. The first arrived at Bückeburg on 20 November 2024; by August 2026 eleven were there, and the first armed one was due at Fritzlar in October 2026. The plan is three attack helicopter battalions of 24 by 2032, one per division. Whether the H145M is a stopgap or the answer is still, officially, undecided.
The German Army Aviation in numbers
Service
- Native name
- HeeresfliegertruppeAbbreviated HFlgTr. It is a Truppengattung — a branch of arms — of the Deutsches Heer, counted among the combat support troops, and not an air force. The beret is bordeaux red, shared with the airborne units of the Division Schnelle Kräfte; the arm-of-service colour is light grey. Since 23 September 2020 it has been the first German branch with a march of its own, the Marsch der Heeresflieger.
- Founded
- 1957The first Dornier Do 27 was handed to Heeresfliegerstaffel 811 at Niedermendig on 14 January 1957, the Heeresfliegerkommando 801 was raised there on 1 March 1957, and the first flying unit followed in May. Planning had begun in 1954 under Oberst Horst Pape. There was no predecessor: the Wehrmacht had no army aviation, because the Luftwaffe claimed everything that flew.
- Part of
- Deutsches HeerNot an air force and not part of one. Germany keeps three military flying organisations — the Luftwaffe, the Marineflieger and the army’s Heeresfliegertruppe — alongside the Bundespolizei and the Länder police air wings, which are not military. Since 1 April 2021 every army flying unit sits under one command.
- Headquarters
- BückeburgThe Kommando Hubschrauber occupies the Jägerkaserne at Bückeburg in Lower Saxony, beside the army airfield and the helicopter school. It was raised on 1 October 2020, took the branch under command on 1 April 2021, and answers to the Division Schnelle Kräfte at Stadtallendorf.
- Main formations
-
- Kommando Hubschrauber, Bückeburg — the branch command since 1 April 2021
- Internationales Hubschrauberausbildungszentrum, Bückeburg — the tri-service helicopter school
- Transporthubschrauberregiment 10 "Lüneburger Heide", Faßberg — NH90
- Transporthubschrauberregiment 30 "Tauberfranken", Niederstetten — NH90 and the national search and rescue service
- Kampfhubschrauberregiment 36 "Kurhessen", Fritzlar — Tiger, and the first H145M
Three flying regiments and one school. In 1990 the branch had ten regiments. The Kommando Hubschrauber can also activate an Aviation Brigade headquarters able to take air force helicopters under command and support a NATO corps, a capability added after February 2022.
- Commander
- Brigadegeneral Dr. Volker BauersachsIn post since March 2023, in succession to Brigadegeneral Ulrich Ott. The post carries three titles at once: commander of the Kommando Hubschrauber, General Heeresfliegertruppe and General Flugbetrieb Heer.
Strength
- Personnel
- about 4,400The figure the Bundeswehr publishes for the Kommando Hubschrauber including its subordinate agencies, covering soldiers and civilian staff at Bückeburg, Faßberg, Niederstetten, Fritzlar, Donauwörth and Le Luc. Germany does not publish a separate audited establishment for the branch.
- Helicopters
- about 170Roughly 51 Tiger, 82 NH90 TTH, 7 H145 LUH SAR, 13 EC 135 and 7 leased H135, plus the H145M fleet now arriving. On charge is not the same as available: the defence ministry’s own readiness reporting put average Bundeswehr helicopter availability at about 40 per cent in the first half of 2021 and has not published a materially better figure since. Treat every number in the fleet table as airframes on charge, not aircraft that can fly today.
- Attack helicopters
- 51 Eurocopter Tiger UHTOf 68 delivered against an order for 80; the remainder are broken for spares. Trade reporting on the run-down plan gives about 30 in operational use at Fritzlar, with three more in ASGARD retrofit. The fleet is to fall to 33 by 2028 and the type leaves operational service by 2032.
- Transport helicopters
- 82 NHIndustries NH90 TTHAll 82 delivered, the last in October 2021, against an original requirement for 122 cut to 82 in the 2011 armaments concept. They equip Transporthubschrauberregiment 10 at Faßberg and Transporthubschrauberregiment 30 at Niederstetten, with a training fleet at Bückeburg. Planned out-of-service date 2051, with no successor named.
- Search and rescue
- 7 Airbus H145 LUH SARThe whole of Germany’s national military search and rescue service for aircraft, run by the 7th Squadron of Transporthubschrauberregiment 30 from three stations. The helicopters belong to the Heer, not the Luftwaffe, although two of the three stations sit on Luftwaffe airfields — a detail that is routinely got wrong.
- Training helicopters
-
- 13 Eurocopter EC 135 T1, bought from 1999
- 7 leased Airbus H135 T3
- H145M LKH in the training fit, arriving since November 2024
All at the Internationales Hubschrauberausbildungszentrum at Bückeburg, which teaches basic helicopter flying to the army, the Luftwaffe, the navy and allied students. Six leased Bell 206B-3 used for full-autorotation training were given back in August 2024; that exercise is now flown only in the simulator.
Infrastructure
- Flying garrisons
- fourBückeburg, Faßberg, Niederstetten and Fritzlar. Celle is the army’s air mobility training and exercise centre and still flies; Laupheim, Mendig, Rheine-Bentlage, Roth, Hohenlockstedt, Neuhausen ob Eck, Hildesheim and Oberschleißheim have all gone from the branch since 1990.
- SAR stations
- threeNiederstetten since July 2020, Nörvenich since December 2020 and Holzdorf since April 2021. Nörvenich and Holzdorf are Luftwaffe airfields; the aircraft and crews are army.
- Training
- BückeburgThe Internationales Hubschrauberausbildungszentrum, which replaced the Heeresfliegerwaffenschule on 1 July 2015, teaches basic helicopter flying for all three German services and for Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands and others. Its simulator centre holds twelve full-mission simulators plus two NH90 devices.
- Abroad
- Le Cannet-des-Maures, FranceThe Deutsch-Französisches Heeresfliegerausbildungszentrum Tiger has trained German and French Tiger crews at Le Luc in Provence since 2003, with the technical school, the Deutsch-Französische Ausbildungseinrichtung Tiger, at Faßberg. Both German parts belong to the school at Bückeburg.
How the German Army Aviation is organised
One command at Bückeburg, three flying regiments and one school, all under the Division Schnelle Kräfte. In 1990 the branch had ten regiments and about 700 helicopters. It now has three regiments and roughly 150.
Division Schnelle Kräfte
The army’s rapid forces division, formed on 1 January 2014 by renaming the Division Spezielle Operationen. It took the three surviving army aviation regiments on 17 December 2013 when the Division Luftbewegliche Operationen was stood down, and it holds the special forces, the airborne brigade and the helicopter command.
Kommando Hubschrauber
The branch command, raised on 1 October 2020 and given every army flying unit on 1 April 2021. About 4,400 people including subordinate agencies. Since 2022 it can also activate an Aviation Brigade headquarters able to take Luftwaffe helicopters under command and support a NATO corps with up to five manoeuvre elements.
Internationales Hubschrauberausbildungszentrum
The tri-service helicopter school, formed on 1 July 2015 out of the Heeresfliegerwaffenschule. Basic helicopter flying for the army, the Luftwaffe and the navy, type conversion on the NH90 and the Tiger, and technical training. It also owns the German parts of both Franco-German Tiger schools and the trials squadron at Celle.
Transporthubschrauberregiment 10 "Lüneburger Heide"
NH90 tactical transport. Raised at Celle on 1 April 1971 as Heeresfliegerregiment 10 and at Faßberg since 1981. Six squadrons. Converted from the UH-1D to the NH90 from June 2011.
Transporthubschrauberregiment 30 "Tauberfranken"
NH90 tactical transport, plus the only standing national task in the branch: its 7th Squadron runs the Bundeswehr’s search and rescue service for aircraft from three stations with seven H145 LUH SAR. Raised at Fritzlar in 1971 and at Niederstetten since 1980.
Kampfhubschrauberregiment 36 "Kurhessen"
The only German regiment ever to fly the Eurocopter Tiger, and the first to receive the armed H145M. Raised on 1 October 1979 as an anti-tank regiment with the Bo 105 P; renamed in 2002. Seven squadrons: a supply and support squadron, two flying squadrons and four technical squadrons.
Systemzentrum Drehflügler Heer
The army’s rotary-wing system centre, responsible for the technical and airworthiness management of every army helicopter type. It sits at the Airbus Helicopters plant.
Leitstelle des Such- und Rettungsdienstes
The coordination centre for the national search and rescue service for aircraft, under the Kommando Hubschrauber.
Deutsch-Französisches Heeresfliegerausbildungszentrum Tiger
The joint German and French Tiger flying school, running since 2003. The German part belongs to the school at Bückeburg.
Deutsch-Französische Ausbildungseinrichtung Tiger
The technical half of the Franco-German Tiger training arrangement, teaching aircraft engineering on the type.
Heeresfliegerversuchsstaffel 910
The branch trials squadron, added at Celle in 2002 and now part of the school at Bückeburg.
Ausbildungs- und Übungszentrum Luftbeweglichkeit
The army’s air mobility training and exercise centre, which runs the flying at Celle.
Division Luftbewegliche Operationen
Raised on 1 July 2002 at Veitshöchheim and the first German division built around army aviation. Stood down on 17 December 2013; its three surviving flying regiments went to the Division Spezielle Operationen.
Luftbewegliche Brigade 1
Commissioned at Fritzlar on 3 April 1997 as the Luftmechanisierte Brigade 1 and reorganised under this name on 11 January 2007. The first German formation to combine attack helicopters, transport helicopters and air-mobile infantry. Stood down on 17 December 2013.
Heeresfliegerbrigade 3
Raised at Mendig on 1 April 1994 out of the III. Korps aviation command, the first brigade the branch ever had and the first formation to gather all the transport regiments and nearly all the observation squadrons. Disbanded on 31 December 2007.
Heeresfliegerkommandos 1, 2 and 3
The corps-level aviation commands. Created as corps aviation commanders in 1959 and upgraded to commands on 1 April 1971 at Münster-Handorf, Laupheim and Mendig, each owning three regiments. All three were disbanded in 1994.
What the German Army Aviation flies today
Every type on charge, linked to its Book of Beasts page where one exists. Counts are aircraft on the books, not aircraft available on a given day.
| Type | Role | In service | Since | Units | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurocopter Tiger UHT (EC 665)In service | Attack and armed reconnaissance helicopter | 51 | 2005 | Kampfhubschrauberregiment 36 "Kurhessen", Internationales Hubschrauberausbildungszentrum, Deutsch-Französisches Heeresfliegerausbildungszentrum Tiger | Sixty-eight delivered between 2005 and July 2018 against a firm order for 80; the original German requirement of 1988 was 212 aircraft.
MoreThe army planned to keep 51 flying and break the rest for spares, and 51 is the figure the defence ministry’s armaments reporting carried. Trade reporting on the run-down gives roughly 32 of those in operational use at Fritzlar, with the fleet falling to 33 airframes by 2028 and to at least 24 stored airframes by 2032. |
|
| NHIndustries NH90 TTHIn service | Tactical transport and medical evacuation helicopter | 82 | 2006 | Transporthubschrauberregiment 10 "Lüneburger Heide", Transporthubschrauberregiment 30 "Tauberfranken", Internationales Hubschrauberausbildungszentrum | All 82 delivered, the last in October 2021, and 82 shown on charge in the 16th armaments report of October 2022.
MoreThe original German requirement was 122 tactical transport helicopters; the 2011 armaments concept cut it to 82 and the reduction was settled with Eurocopter in a memorandum of understanding in June 2013, which also bought the navy 18 NH90 NTH Sea Lion. |
|
| Airbus Helicopters H145M LKHIn service | Light attack, training and multi-role helicopter | 11 | 2024 | Internationales Hubschrauberausbildungszentrum, Kampfhubschrauberregiment 36 "Kurhessen", Transporthubschrauberregiment 10 "Lüneburger Heide", Transporthubschrauberregiment 30 "Tauberfranken" | Eleven at Bückeburg by August 2026, with sixteen expected there by the end of the year and the first armed aircraft due at Fritzlar in October 2026.
MoreEighty-two are on contract for the Bundeswehr in two lots, of which 72 are for the army; deliveries run to 2029. The number on charge is moving every month and this figure is the August 2026 position. |
|
| Airbus Helicopters H145 LUH SARIn service | Search and rescue helicopter | 7 | 2019 | Transporthubschrauberregiment 30 "Tauberfranken" | Seven, all delivered between 2019 and 19 March 2021. This is the whole German military search and rescue helicopter fleet. | |
| Eurocopter EC 135 T1In service | Basic flying training helicopter | 13 | 1999 | Internationales Hubschrauberausbildungszentrum | Fifteen bought from 1999, thirteen still on charge. One was lost in a crash near Hameln on 1 July 2019. | |
| Airbus Helicopters H135 T3In service | Leased basic flying training helicopter | 7 | 2018 | Internationales Hubschrauberausbildungszentrum | Seven leased with civil registrations to top up the EC 135 training fleet, taken on from 2018.
MoreThe original lease was reported to run to 2024; we could not confirm whether it has been extended while the H145M builds up. Treat the end date as unverified. |
On order
| Type | Ordered | First delivery | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus Helicopters H145M LKHOn order | 61 | 2024 | Seventy-two are contracted for the army and eleven had reached Bückeburg by August 2026, which leaves about 61 outstanding.
MoreThe buy came in two lots: 62 aircraft ordered by the procurement office BAAINBw on 13 December 2023 against a framework for up to 82, for about 2.63 billion euros, and 20 more in November 2025 for about 1.1 billion, a total of roughly 3.73 billion euros. The army takes 57 from the first lot — 24 in the combat fit and 33 for training and currency — and 15 from the second; the Luftwaffe takes 5 and 5 in the special forces fit. Money came from the Sondervermögen Bundeswehr to 2027 and from the ordinary defence budget after that. Bückeburg gets 23 training aircraft — the Bundeswehr’s own account says 21 — and four converted simulators in 2026 and 2027; Kampfhubschrauberregiment 36 at Fritzlar was to receive the first of its 23 armed aircraft from the middle of 2026 — 24 are being built in the Kampf role, the twenty-fourth going to Wehrtechnische Dienststelle 61, with the first due there in October 2026; Transporthubschrauberregiment 30 at Niederstetten and Transporthubschrauberregiment 10 at Faßberg get five each from March 2027 and February 2028. The plan beyond that is three attack helicopter battalions of 24 aircraft each by 2032, which would take the army fleet to about 95. |
Every type the German Army Aviation has retired
15 types, from the Sikorsky H-34G Choctaw (S-58) to the Bell 206B-3 JetRanger. Peak figures are airframes taken on charge over the whole service life, not fleet strength on any one date.
| Type | Role | Peak | Served | Replaced by | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bell 206B-3 JetRanger | Leased autorotation training helicopter | 6 | 2017–2024 | Simulator training | Six, leased with civil registrations as a replacement for the Bo 105 in the training role and handed back in August 2024.
MoreThe lease start date is not stated in the sources we reached; it followed the Bo 105’s retirement at the end of 2016. |
|
| Bell UH-1D Iroquois | Light transport, SAR and utility helicopter | 356 | 1967–2021 | NH90 TTH and H145 LUH SAR | Three hundred and fifty-six for the Bundeswehr as a whole, most of them built under licence by Dornier.
MoreThe army and the Luftwaffe both flew them and the split between the two services is not published in the sources we reached; bundeswehr.de gives the round figure of 340 acquired from 1968. The army was the last operator, taking over the Luftwaffe’s aircraft in 2013 and flying them until 2021. |
|
| MBB Bo 105 M (VBH) and Bo 105 P1M | Liaison, observation and training helicopter | 100 | 1979–2016 | Eurocopter EC 135 and leased Bell 206 | One hundred Bo 105 M, serials 80+01 to 81+00, retired in 2004. Sixty-seven disarmed PAH-1s then took the role as the Bo 105 P1M until the type’s last Bundeswehr flight on 13 December 2016. | |
| Sikorsky CH-53G / CH-53GS / CH-53GA | Medium transport helicopter | 112 | 1972–2013 | NH90 TTH in the army; the type itself passed to the Luftwaffe | One hundred and twelve bought for the Bundeswehr, all of them army until 1 January 2013. All but the first two were built under licence in Germany.
MoreSixty-six were still on charge in April 2017, by then on the Luftwaffe’s books. |
|
| MBB Bo 105 P (PAH-1 and PAH-1A1) | Anti-tank helicopter | 212 | 1979–2013 | Eurocopter Tiger UHT | Two hundred and twelve of the armed Bo 105 P for the army, on top of 100 unarmed Bo 105 M.
MoreSixty-seven were converted back to unarmed liaison aircraft as the Bo 105 P1M between 2006 and 2014. |
|
| Aérospatiale Alouette II (SE.3130 and SA-318C) | Liaison, observation and training helicopter | — | 1959–2006 | MBB Bo 105 M and Eurocopter EC 135 | Two hundred and forty-seven SE.3130 from 1959 and 53 SA-318C from 1969, all for the army, out of 267 Alouette IIs bought by the Bundeswehr in total according to type histories — the two figures do not reconcile and we give both.
MoreThe first 130 were ordered in 1959 to replace the Do 27. |
|
| Mil Mi-8S, Mi-8T and Mi-8TB Hip | Transport helicopter | 91 | 1990–1997 | — | Ninety-one taken over from the Nationale Volksarmee in 1990 and shared between the army, the Luftwaffe and the navy; the split is not published.
MoreThe army withdrew its aircraft by 1994 and the last Bundeswehr Mi-8 went in 1997. |
|
| Mil Mi-24D and Mi-24P Hind | Attack helicopter | 51 | 1990–1993 | — | Fifty-one taken over from the Nationale Volksarmee on 3 October 1990.
MoreEighteen Mi-24D were passed to Poland for the 49th regiment at Pruszcz Gdański; one Mi-24D and one Mi-24P went to the United States Army for threat training; the rest went to Hungary as spares or to museums. |
|
| Mil Mi-2T Hoplite | Light utility helicopter | 25 | 1990–1992 | — | Twenty-five taken on charge from the Nationale Volksarmee in 1990, with fifteen more going to the police forces of the new Länder.
MoreEast Germany had 48, delivered by WSK Świdnik in Poland between 1974 and 1985 — 33 for the air force and 15 for the border troops. |
|
| Dornier Do 27 A and B | Liaison, observation and light transport aeroplane | 428 | 1957–1980 | Alouette II | Four hundred and twenty-eight for the Bundeswehr — 322 Do 27 A and 106 Do 27 B — shared between the army, the Luftwaffe and the navy. The army was the heaviest user in the early years.
MoreSurplus aircraft were given away under aid programmes to African air forces or sold to flying clubs. |
|
| Sikorsky H-34G Choctaw (S-58) | Medium transport helicopter | 191 | 1957–1975 | Sikorsky CH-53G | One hundred and ninety-one for the Bundeswehr across the army, the Luftwaffe and the navy; the army’s share is not separately published.
MoreTwenty-six were bought in the first instance for army trials. |
|
| Bell 47G-2 | Observation, liaison and training helicopter | 45 | 1957–1974 | Alouette II | Forty-five for the army and the Luftwaffe, plus fourteen Bell 47 GH13 bought separately for trials. | |
| Piasecki (Vertol) H-21C Shawnee | Medium transport helicopter | 32 | 1957–1971 | Sikorsky CH-53G | Thirty-two for the army and the Luftwaffe, bought as part of the mixed trials purchase of 1957. | |
| Sud-Ouest SO.1221 Djinn | Observation and liaison helicopter | 6 | 1957–1960 | — | Six, bought for trials only. | |
| Saunders-Roe Skeeter Mk.50 and Mk.51 | Observation and liaison helicopter | 10 | 1958–1960 | Alouette II | Six Mk.50 and four Mk.51 for the army and the navy; ten Skeeter Mark 6 are recorded in the branch history as the trials purchase. |
Where the Heeresflieger fly from — and the fields they have given up
Black pins are active army airfields and detachments, hollow pins the ones the branch has left. Two of the three national search and rescue stations sit on Luftwaffe airfields at Nörvenich and Holzdorf — the helicopters and the crews are army.
| Base | ICAO | Status | Runway | Units and aircraft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bückeburg ArmyNiedersachsen | ETHB | Active | 08/261,832 m |
|
| Celle ArmyNiedersachsen | ETHC | Active | 08/261,831 mGrass strips A to D350 mgrass |
|
| Faßberg ArmyNiedersachsen | ETHS | Active | 09/272,440 m09/271,000 mgrass |
|
| Fritzlar ArmyHessen | ETHF | Active | 11/291,040 m |
|
| HolzdorfSachsen-Anhalt | ETSH | Active | 09/272,419 masphalt and concrete |
|
| Le Luc-Le CannetVar | LFMC | Active | 13/311,399 m09/27800 m |
|
| Niederstetten ArmyBaden-Württemberg | ETHN | Active | 07/251,012 m |
|
| NörvenichNordrhein-Westfalen | ETNN | Active | 06/242,439 m |
|
| Landsberg/LechBayern | ETSA | Closed 2020 | 07/252,066 mconcrete |
|
| Roth ArmyBayern | ETHR | Closed 2014 | 09/27535 m |
|
| LaupheimBaden-Württemberg | ETHL | Closed 2013 | 09/271,646 m03/21600 mgrass |
|
| Rheine-BentlageNordrhein-Westfalen | ETHE | Closed 2013 | 08/26510 m |
|
| MendigRheinland-Pfalz | EDRE | Closed 2007 | 07/251,615 m07/25690 mgrass |
|
| Hungriger WolfSchleswig-Holstein | EDHF | Closed 2004 | 02/201,040 mgrass with asphalt sections09/27708 mgrass |
|
| Cottbus-NordBrandenburg | ETHT | Closed 2003 | 08/262,360 mconcrete08/262,200 mgrass |
|
| Neuhausen ob EckBaden-Württemberg | EDSN | Closed 1994 | 09/271,248 m |
|
| RotenburgWümmeNiedersachsen | EDXQ | Closed 1994 | 08/26806 m08/26750 mgrass |
|
| Münster-HandorfNordrhein-Westfalen | Closed 1984 | — |
|
|
| OberschleißheimBayern | EDNX | Closed 1981 | 07/25808 m |
|
| HildesheimNiedersachsen | EDVM | Closed 1979 | 07/251,220 m07/251,220 mgrass |
|
No air base matches that search.
Who is stationed where in the German Army Aviation
Flying units by garrison, past and present. German army aviation regiments carry regional names granted by the state they sit in: Lüneburger Heide, Tauberfranken, Kurhessen, Münsterland, Oberschwaben.
- Kommando HubschrauberBranch command · army
- —
- Internationales HubschrauberausbildungszentrumInternational helicopter training centre · army
- Eurocopter EC 135 T1, Airbus Helicopters H135 T3, Airbus Helicopters H145M LKH, NH90 TTH, Eurocopter Tiger UHT
- Heeresfliegerwaffenschule1960–2015
- —
- Heeresfliegerstaffel 9001971–1993
- —
- Transporthubschrauberregiment 10 "Lüneburger Heide"Transport helicopter regiment · army
- NH90 TTH, Airbus Helicopters H145M LKH
- Deutsch-Französische Ausbildungseinrichtung TigerFranco-German Tiger technical school · army
- Eurocopter Tiger UHT
- Technisches Ausbildungszentrum der Luftwaffe, Abteilung NordAir force technical training centre · attached
- —
- Transporthubschrauberregiment 30 "Tauberfranken"Transport helicopter regiment · army
- NH90 TTH, Airbus Helicopters H145 LUH SAR, Airbus Helicopters H145M LKH
- 7. (fliegende) Staffel TrspHubschrRgt 30Search and rescue squadron · army
- Airbus Helicopters H145 LUH SAR
- Heeresfliegerbataillon 121961–1971
- —
- Heeresfliegerstaffel 121971–1993
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- leichte Heeresfliegertransportstaffel 9 (AMF)1993–1998
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- Kampfhubschrauberregiment 36 "Kurhessen"Attack helicopter regiment · army
- Eurocopter Tiger UHT, Airbus Helicopters H145M LKH
- Heeresfliegerstaffel 21958–1994
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- leichtes Heeresfliegertransportregiment 301971–1980
- Bell UH-1D
- Luftmechanisierte Brigade 1 / Luftbewegliche Brigade 11997–2013
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- Ausbildungs- und Übungszentrum LuftbeweglichkeitAir mobility training and exercise centre · army
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- Heeresfliegerversuchsstaffel 910Army aviation trials squadron · army
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- Heeresfliegerregiment 161979–2002
- MBB Bo 105 P (PAH-1)
- Heeresfliegerregiment 101971–1981
- Bell UH-1D
- Heeresfliegerstaffel 1 and 111959–1994
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- SAR-Kommando HolzdorfSearch and rescue detachment · army
- Airbus Helicopters H145 LUH SAR
- Lufttransportgruppe HSG 64Air transport group (Luftwaffe) · attached
- Sikorsky CH-53GA
- SAR-Kommando NörvenichSearch and rescue detachment · army
- Airbus Helicopters H145 LUH SAR
- Deutsch-Französisches Heeresfliegerausbildungszentrum TigerFranco-German Tiger flying school · army
- Eurocopter Tiger UHT
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German Army Aviation milestones, 1914 to today
Oberst Horst Pape is appointed the army’s adviser on army aviation questions and told to plan a branch from nothing. The Wehrmacht had none: Göring claimed every flying machine for the Luftwaffe.
14 January: the first Dornier Do 27 is handed to Heeresfliegerstaffel 811 at Niedermendig, the first German production aeroplane built after the war. 1 March: Heeresfliegerkommando 801 is raised there. May: the first flying unit forms. Bell 47G-2, Djinn, Skeeter, Vertol H-21 and Sikorsky H-34 follow in small trial lots.
The Do 27 is displaced in the liaison role by 130 newly bought Alouette IIs. The Heeresfliegerwaffenschule is raised at Niedermendig; the corps aviation commanders 1, 2 and 3 are established.
12 and 13 January: the weapons school moves to Bückeburg, where it still is. Early Alouette IIs are tested with SS.11 anti-tank missiles, Germany’s first armed helicopter.
The Bell UH-1D arrives at the weapons school as a trainer; it reaches the regiments in 1967. Three hundred and fifty-six are eventually bought for the Bundeswehr.
1 April: the branch is rebuilt. The divisional battalions are broken up and six transport regiments — 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 — are raised, two under each of the three corps aviation commands. The helicopter museum opens at Bückeburg.
26 July: the first Sikorsky CH-53G is formally handed to the army. One hundred and twelve are bought, all but the first two built under licence in Germany.
The anti-tank force is created. Three regiments — 16 at Celle, 26 at Roth, 36 at Fritzlar — are raised with the MBB Bo 105 P, the PAH-1, carrying six HOT missiles. Two hundred and twelve armed and 100 unarmed Bo 105s are bought.
1 April: Heeresfliegerbataillon 6 at Hungriger Wolf becomes Heeresfliegerregiment 6, the only regiment with both transport and anti-tank squadrons, because the LANDJUT sector had no separate anti-tank regiment. 1 July: Heeresfliegerregiment 30 moves from Fritzlar to Niederstetten.
3 October: the Nationale Volksarmee’s Armeefliegerkräfte are absorbed — 51 Mil Mi-24 from the wings at Cottbus and Basepohl, 91 Mi-8 and 25 Mi-2.
1 April: Heeresfliegerstaffeln 70, 80 and Ost are raised out of the two East German wings. German army helicopters fly Kurdish relief in Iran and Anatolia, the branch’s first operation abroad.
The Mi-24 is withdrawn; the formal out-of-service date is 14 September 1994. Army helicopters deploy to Somalia with UNOSOM II.
1 April: the Heeresfliegerbrigade 3 is raised at Mendig, the branch’s first brigade, gathering the transport regiments and almost every observation squadron. The three corps aviation commands and most divisional squadrons are disbanded.
The first German contingent for IFOR deploys to Zadar in Croatia with Heeresfliegerregiment 10 in the lead, about 380 soldiers, CH-53s from Rheine, Laupheim and Mendig and UH-1Ds from Faßberg and Niederstetten.
3 April: the Luftmechanisierte Brigade 1 is commissioned at Fritzlar, the first German formation to combine attack helicopters, transport helicopters and air-mobile infantry.
Autumn: a mixed army aviation detachment moves into the old agricultural strip at Toplicane near Suhareka for KFOR. It stays until 2011. The EC 135 enters service as the new basic trainer.
April: CH-53s deploy to Afghanistan. 21 December: a CH-53 comes down near Kabul airport after a gearbox failure, killing seven German soldiers — the worst single Bundeswehr loss on a deployment to that date. Heeresfliegerregiment 36 is renamed Kampfhubschrauberregiment 36.
The Bo 105 M is retired and Heeresfliegerregiment 6 at Hungriger Wolf and Heeresfliegerregiment 35 at Mendig are disbanded.
April: the first three production Eurocopter Tigers reach Kampfhubschrauberregiment 36 at Fritzlar, eight years after the first trials aircraft. June: Transporthubschrauberregiment 10 begins converting to the NH90.
13 December: the handover parade for the Fähigkeitstransfer Hubschrauber. The army gives every CH-53 to the Luftwaffe and takes the Luftwaffe’s NH90s and UH-1Ds in exchange, with effect from 1 January 2013. Four Tigers deploy to Afghanistan.
30 June: Mittleres Transporthubschrauberregiment 15 at Rheine-Bentlage is disbanded; its sister at Laupheim is absorbed into the Luftwaffe wing. 17 December: the Division Luftbewegliche Operationen and the Luftbewegliche Brigade 1 are stood down and the three surviving regiments pass to the Division Spezielle Operationen. The last live HOT firing takes place at Idar-Oberstein.
1 July: the Heeresfliegerwaffenschule becomes the Internationales Hubschrauberausbildungszentrum, and technical training for the NH90 and the Tiger moves from the Luftwaffe to the army.
March to July: four Tigers and four NH90s deploy to Gao for MINUSMA in Mali. 26 July: a Tiger loses its main rotor blades near Tabankort and both crew are killed; the final report of 11 December 2018 blames a maintenance error made at Fritzlar.
1 October: the Kommando Hubschrauber is raised at Bückeburg. July and December: the H145 LUH SAR replaces the UH-1D on search and rescue alert at Niederstetten and Nörvenich.
1 April: every army flying unit comes under the Kommando Hubschrauber. 28 January: the last German CH-53 leaves Afghanistan after almost nineteen years and 22,500 flying hours. June: the UH-1D makes its last flight after fifty-four years. October: the eighty-second and last NH90 TTH is delivered.
May: the ministry decides not to modernise the Tiger but to replace it with the H145M. 14 December: 62 H145M are ordered under the Sondervermögen Bundeswehr. 12 December: the last German contingent leaves Mali.
January: the 18th armaments report sets the Tiger’s end of operational use at 2032. 20 November: the first H145M LKH is handed over and goes to Bückeburg. August: the six leased Bell 206 trainers are given back and full autorotation training moves into the simulator.
August: eleven H145M are at Bückeburg and the first course is running on the operational aircraft rather than the simulator, which is not yet available. The first armed H145M is due at Fritzlar in October. The plan is three attack helicopter battalions of 24 aircraft each by 2032, one per division.
Every campaign the Heeresfliegertruppe has flown, 1991 to today
Seven campaigns since 1991 — Kurdistan, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan twice and Mali. Nine people have been killed in flying accidents on them: seven aboard a CH-53 near Kabul in December 2002 and the two Tiger crew in Mali in July 2017.
- Mali: MINUSMA 2017-2023 Armed escort and forward medical evacuation for a United Nations stabilisation force, covering blue helmets, Malian troops and civilians across a desert area the size of France
- Afghanistan: Resolute Support 2015-2021 Forward air medical evacuation and transport for the train, advise and assist mission, and cover for the final withdrawal
- Afghanistan: ISAF 2002-2014 Troop and freight transport, medical evacuation and, from 2013, armed escort and close air support for German and allied forces in the northern regional command
- Kosovo: KFOR 1999-2011 Transport, liaison, observation and medical evacuation for the German brigade in the southern sector of KFOR, and lead helicopter unit for the multinational sector
- Bosnia: IFOR, SFOR and EUFOR Althea 1995-2004 Air transport of troops and freight, casualty evacuation and liaison for the German contingent of the NATO implementation and stabilisation forces
German Army Aviation news from Afterburner
Everything MiGFlug’s magazine has published on the German Army Aviation and the aircraft it flies. This list refreshes itself — new Afterburner stories appear here automatically.
Everything people ask about the German Army Aviation
What is the Heeresfliegertruppe?
What helicopters does the German Army fly?
Why is Germany retiring the Tiger?
When did the CH-53 go from the German army to the Luftwaffe, and why?
Are the H145 search and rescue helicopters army or air force?
What was the PAH-1, and was it really going to work?
What happened to the East German helicopters?
Has German army aviation been in combat?
What caused the Tiger crash in Mali?
How many helicopters can actually fly?
Where do German army pilots learn to fly?
Did the Wehrmacht have army aviation?
Read the aircraft the German Army Aviation flew
Every type with a page in the Book of Beasts, in service first, then by the year it left the fleet.
Every fact, checked
- Bundeswehr: Kommando Hubschraubercurrent commander, subordinate units, personnel figure and aircraft types
- Bundeswehr: Soldaten erhalten Leichten Kampfhubschrauber H145Marmy H145M quantities, basing and role
- Bundeswehr: Das Heer verabschiedet eine LegendeUH-1D numbers, roles, SAR handover dates and the 2021 retirement
- Bundeswehr: Die Bundeswehr bei MINUSMAGerman MINUSMA dates, strength, helicopter contribution and fatalities
- 14. Bericht des BMVg zu Rüstungsangelegenheiten, 31 October 2021Tiger and NH90 programme status and quantities
- 16. Bericht des BMVg zu Rüstungsangelegenheiten, 31 October 2022NH90 TTH and Tiger airframes on charge
- 18. Bericht des BMVg zu Rüstungsangelegenheiten, January 2024the 2032 end of operational use for the Tiger; cited through the German-language trade press rather than read in full
- Jahresbericht 2025 der Wehrbeauftragten des Deutschen Bundestages (67. Bericht)presented 26 March 2026; Bundeswehr personnel strength and the general state of equipment
- Deutscher BundeswehrVerband: Materielle Einsatzbereitschaft — Stagnation statt Fortschrittaverage Bundeswehr helicopter availability of about 40 per cent in the first half of 2021; per-type figures are classified
- Sicherheit und Verteidigung: Die Zukunft der HeeresfliegertruppeTiger run-down schedule, H145M split by role and service, the three planned helicopter brigades
- Sicherheit und Verteidigung: Bundeswehr beschafft 82 H145M LKHcontract dates, quantities, cost, basing and funding from the Sondervermögen
- FLUG REVUE: Deutschland kauft 20 weitere H145Mthe second lot, the 82-aircraft total and the split of 72 army and 10 air force
- FLUG REVUE: Tiger kommen weg, 13 May 2023the May 2023 decision not to modernise the Tiger
- Hardthöhenkurier: Premiere beim H145M — Schulung gleich auf dem Einsatzsystem, 6 August 2026eleven H145M at Bückeburg by August 2026, the first pilot course, the October 2026 Fritzlar delivery and the 2032 plan
- Hardthöhenkurier: Heeresfliegertruppe — Hubschraubereinsatz im Heerbranch structure, personnel and current commitments
- Augen geradeaus!: Nazgul meldet sich ab — die CH-53-Hubschrauber verlassen Afghanistan22,500 flying hours, about 1,750 missions, five million kilometres and seventeen engagements by small-arms fire, 2002 to 2021
- aerobuzz: Alle sieben LUH SAR sind nun an das Heer ausgeliefert, 19 March 2021the seven H145 LUH SAR and the delivery of the last aircraft
- Europäische Sicherheit und Technik: Kampfhubschrauberregiment 36 auf dem Sprung — mit Tiger und LKHthe regiment’s transition from the Tiger to the H145M
- Militärisches Luftfahrthandbuch Deutschland (MIL AIP), Bundeswehr Geoinformation CentreICAO indicators, coordinates, elevations and runway data for the active military airfields; cross-checked against the German Air Force dataset
- OurAirportscoordinates, elevations and runway data for the closed and civil-use airfields
Figures verified 2026-09-20. Order of Battle pages are regenerated from a single dataset; if a number here disagrees with a Book of Beasts page, this page is the more recent of the two.
Photographs: Photo: André Gerwing / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Matti Blume / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Wissenslustiger / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Tpansky / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Chme82 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Acroterion / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Alf van Beem / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · Photo: Alan Wilson from Peterborough, Cambs, UK / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: Master Sgt. H. Robinson, U.S. Air Force (photo 342-C-KE-66630) / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Clemens Vasters from Viersen, Germany / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) · Photo: Ank Kumar / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Zala / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Falk2 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)