Army Air Corps (United Kingdom)
The Army Air Corps is the British Army’s own air arm: first formed in 1941–42 to fly gliders and paratroops into Sicily, Normandy and Arnhem, re-formed on 1 September 1957 from the glider pilots and the artillery’s air observation post squadrons, and in 2026 reduced to two front-line types — 50 AH-64E Apaches and 34 Wildcats — while it waits for armed drones to fly beside them.
The Army Air Corps story: gliders at Arnhem, Apaches in Helmand and a wait for drones
1941–1949: gliders, paratroops and the artillery’s flying observers
The corps has two birthdays. The National Army Museum dates the first Army Air Corps to 21 December 1941, when it was created as the umbrella for the new Parachute Regiment and Glider Pilot Regiment; Wikipedia, following the Royal Warrant, puts it in 1942. Its glider pilots were soldiers who flew: they landed troops in Sicily in 1943, took the Caen canal and Orne river bridges in the first minutes of 6 June 1944, and flew into Arnhem and across the Rhine. Wikipedia’s article on the regiment calls it both the shortest-lived regiment in the British Army and the one with the highest casualty rate per head. Alongside them, Royal Artillery officers flew Austers as air observation post pilots in RAF squadrons: No. 651, the first, formed at Old Sarum on 1 August 1941 and went into action in North Africa in November 1942. The wartime corps was disbanded in August 1949.
1957–1970: a new corps at Middle Wallop, and small wars in Borneo and Aden
The present corps was formed on 1 September 1957, the date on the British Army’s own page: the Glider Pilot Regiment and the artillery’s Air OP squadrons were merged, and No. 651 Squadron changed its RAF prefix for the letters AAC. Its headquarters today are at Middle Wallop in Hampshire, beside the Army Flying Museum. Before the merger, army pilots had already flown in Korea, where the Army Flying Museum records nearly 3,000 sorties by 1903 Air OP Flight and about 9,000 by 1913 Light Liaison Flight between 1951 and 1955. The new corps swapped fixed wings for rotors: 64 Skeeters, then Sioux and the turbine-powered Scout, of which about 150 were bought and which Wikipedia says lost three airframes written off in the Radfan fighting in Aden. Borneo (1962–67) and Aden (1964–67) were the first campaigns, fought in jungle and mountains with light helicopters that were more useful as eyes and ambulances than as weapons.
1969–1990: Northern Ireland, the Rhine and the Falklands
From 1969 Northern Ireland became the corps’ longest campaign: the Army lists Operation Banner from 1969 to 2007. Scouts, then Gazelles and Lynx, flew surveillance, patrol insertions and resupply over South Armagh, and the corps took losses there; Wikipedia records a Gazelle downed after IRA fire on 17 February 1978 and a Lynx hit by an IRA mortar in 1994, whose crew survived. The National Army Museum dates the corps’ status as a direct-fire combat arm to 1972. In Germany the regiments sat with the British Army of the Rhine at Detmold, Soest and elsewhere; the Lynx arrived in 1979, and from 1981 sixty carried TOW anti-tank missiles. In 1982 656 Squadron sailed for the Falklands with Scouts and Gazelles. The Army Flying Museum credits it with 588 operational flying hours and 195 casualties evacuated, at least 20 of them Argentine; one Gazelle and four men were lost to fire from HMS Cardiff on the night of 5–6 June.
1991–2010: the Gulf, Joint Helicopter Command and the Apache
In the 1991 Gulf War the corps went to war as an anti-tank force: Wikipedia counts 24 TOW-armed Lynx, with Gazelles, and 4 Regiment AAC was among the units deployed. Balkan peacekeeping followed. In October 1999 the Army’s helicopters were put under Joint Helicopter Command, a tri-service headquarters recommended by the 1998 Strategic Defence Review that also took the RAF’s support helicopters (the Chinooks, Pumas and Merlins) and the Royal Navy’s Commando Helicopter Force. The corps kept its own cap badge, but not its own command. The big change was the Apache: 67 ordered, the first eight built by Boeing and the rest by Westland, in service from 2001 according to the Army Flying Museum and fully delivered by July 2004. It went to Helmand in 2006, and by April 2014 British Apaches had flown 50,000 hours in Afghanistan, one third of all their flying, according to the Ministry of Defence.
2011–2019: Apaches at sea off Libya, the last flight in Germany, the Wildcat
Libya in 2011 showed a different use. Apaches of 656 Squadron sailed in HMS Ocean, and on 4 June 2011 struck a radar site and a checkpoint near Brega — “the first operational mission flown by British Army Apaches at sea”, in the words of the Defence Secretary, Liam Fox. The Ministry of Defence later said they had been allocated 49 missions in four months. Afghanistan continued to cost lives: on 26 April 2014 a Lynx Mk9A crashed in Kandahar province, killing five, three of them Army Air Corps. On 11 October 2013 1 Regiment AAC ended British military flying in Germany when it left Gütersloh; it re-formed with the new Wildcat at RNAS Yeovilton, sharing the base with the Navy’s Wildcats. The Army’s 34 Wildcat AH1s, part of a 62-aircraft order, entered service in 2014 and replaced the Lynx, which bowed out in 2018.
2019–2026: two types, fewer people, and a wait for drones
Since 2019 the corps has been shrinking to its core. The Islander and Defender surveillance aircraft of 651 Squadron went to the RAF in April 2019 and were retired on 30 June 2021; the Gazelle, flown since 1974, made its farewell from Aldergrove in October 2023; and the RAF took over the Brunei helicopter role in May 2023. What is left is two front-line types: 50 AH-64E Apaches, the last accepted by Defence Equipment and Support on 6 March 2025 for 1.7 billion pounds, and the Wildcat. Wikipedia puts the corps at about 2,000 regulars and 150 aircraft. The open question is drones. The Watchkeeper, which belongs to the Royal Artillery, is being withdrawn, and the June 2026 Defence Investment Plan promised up to 24 armed autonomous drones under Project NYX to fly alongside the Apache by 2030. Whether the Army Air Corps or someone else flies them has not yet been published.
The Army Air Corps (United Kingdom) in numbers
Service
- Official name
- Army Air CorpsThe name used by the British Army on army.mod.uk. The page follows the English Wikipedia title, Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), to separate it from other armies’ air corps
- Founded
- 1 September 1957The present corps. An earlier Army Air Corps existed from 1941–42 to 1949: the National Army Museum dates it to 21 December 1941, Wikipedia to 1942
- Part of
- British ArmyA combat arm of the Army. Its front-line helicopters fly under the tri-service Joint Helicopter Command formed in 1999, which Wikipedia says became Joint Aviation Command in 2024
- Headquarters
- Middle Wallop Flying Station, HampshireAlso the Army Aviation Centre, the Apache training fleet and the Army Flying Museum
- Colonel Commandant
- Maj. Gen. M. R. KeatingAppointed 11 April 2025
- Role
- Aviation find and attackThe Army’s own description: the combat aviation arm of the British Army. The 2025 Strategic Defence Review asks the Army for a ‘Recce-Strike’ model
Strength
- Personnel
- About 2,000 regularsWikipedia’s figure; no official headcount for the corps was found on army.mod.uk. The Ministry of Defence counts 8 AAC regiments (7 Regular, 1 Reserve) at 1 April 2025
- Attack helicopters
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- Boeing AH-64E Apache — 50 accepted by March 2025
All 50 remanufactured from Apache AH1s; the 50th was kept in the United States for software testing and was due in the UK in 2026
- Reconnaissance helicopters
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- Leonardo AW159 Wildcat AH1 — 34 ordered
Part of a 62-aircraft order with 28 for the Royal Navy; 1 Regiment AAC at RNAS Yeovilton. A current Army Wildcat count was not published on an official page
- Other types
-
- Airbus AS365N3 Dauphin II — number not published
- Airbus H135 Juno HT1 (tri-service training)
Wikipedia lists the Dauphin with the Army; the Juno and Jupiter are contractor-owned trainers used by all three services under the UK Military Flying Training System
- Total aircraft
- About 150Wikipedia’s figure, which includes training aircraft; not confirmed by an official source
Infrastructure
- Flying stations
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- Middle Wallop — HQ, Army Aviation Centre, Apache training
- Wattisham — 3 and 4 Regiments, AH-64E
- RNAS Yeovilton — 1 Regiment, Wildcat
- RAF Shawbury — 9 (Training) Regiment
- British Forces Brunei
The Army lists these locations for the corps
- Germany
- Left in 2013British military flying in Germany ended on 11 October 2013 when 1 Regiment AAC left Gütersloh; regiments had been based at Detmold, Soest and elsewhere
- Regiments
- 1, 3, 4, 5; training 2, 7, 9; reserve 6Eight regiments at 1 April 2025 according to the Ministry of Defence
- Joint command
- Joint Helicopter Command, now Joint Aviation CommandFormed in 1999; also commands RAF Chinooks at Odiham and the Royal Navy’s Commando Helicopter Force
How the Army Air Corps (United Kingdom) is organised
A corps headquarters and the 1st Aviation Brigade Combat Team at Middle Wallop over 1, 3, 4 and 5 Regiments, three training regiments and a reserve regiment. Only two front-line types are left: the AH-64E Apache of 3 and 4 Regiments at Wattisham and the Wildcat of 1 Regiment at RNAS Yeovilton. The front-line helicopters fly under the tri-service command that grew out of Joint Helicopter Command, which also commands the RAF’s Chinooks at Odiham.
Headquarters Army Air Corps
The corps headquarters beside the Army Aviation Centre. Maj. Gen. M. R. Keating has been Colonel Commandant since 11 April 2025, a figurehead post; the flying regiments are commanded through the 1st Aviation Brigade Combat Team and the tri-service command that grew out of Joint Helicopter Command.
1st Aviation Brigade Combat Team
The brigade headquarters, with its attack element at Wattisham and its find element at Yeovilton. Its formation date was not confirmed on an official page.
3 and 4 Regiments Army Air Corps
The whole operational AH-64E Apache fleet: 3 Regiment with 653, 662 and 663 Squadrons, at Wattisham since 1993, and 4 Regiment with 656 and 664. The 50th and last AH-64E was accepted on 6 March 2025; 656 Squadron flew the first British Army Apache mission from a ship, off Libya on 4 June 2011.
1 Regiment Army Air Corps
The Wildcat AH1, 34 of them ordered for the Army, with 651, 652, 659 and 661 Squadrons; 652 is the conversion unit. At Yeovilton since 2015 beside the Royal Navy’s Wildcats; its departure from Gütersloh on 11 October 2013 ended British military flying in Germany.
5 Regiment Army Air Corps
Formed at Aldergrove on 1 November 1979 as the Northern Ireland Regiment and retitled in 1993. It flew Gazelles, Lynx, Islanders and Defenders over Northern Ireland and had moved to Middle Wallop, with 665 Squadron, by November 2024.
2, 7 and 9 (Training) Regiments
2 and 7 Regiments belong to the Army Aviation Centre, 7 running Apache conversion on the AH-64E training fleet; 9 Regiment, with 660 and 670 Squadrons, teaches Army pilots to fly helicopters on contractor-owned Juno and Jupiter trainers at RAF Shawbury.
6 Regiment Army Air Corps
The Army Reserve regiment. The Army places it at Middle Wallop; Wikipedia lists its headquarters squadron and 677 Squadron at Wattisham.
667 Squadron Army Air Corps
Redesignated from 7 Flight on 1 August 2021 and still listed by the Army in Brunei. Wikipedia says RAF Pumas took over the Bell 212 role and that the squadron received Jupiter HC2s in December 2025; who crews the Brunei helicopters today was not confirmed.
7 Aviation Support Battalion REME
The aviation maintenance battalion beside the Apache regiments; Wikipedia counts 429 personnel in 2018.
What the Army Air Corps (United Kingdom) 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing AH-64E ApacheIn service | Attack helicopter | 50 | 2022 | 50 accepted by DE&S by 6 March 2025; the 50th stayed in the United States for software testing and was due in the UK in 2026. | ||
| Leonardo (AgustaWestland) AW159 Wildcat AH1In service | Battlefield reconnaissance helicopter | 34 | 2014 | 34 ordered for the Army out of 62; no current count published. | ||
| Airbus Helicopters AS365N3 Dauphin IIIn service | Special-operations support helicopter | |||||
| Airbus Helicopters H135 Juno HT1In service | Basic helicopter trainer | 2016 | Tri-service fleet; not an AAC-owned type. |
On order
| Type | Ordered | First delivery | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing AH-64E Apache (50th aircraft)On order | 1 | 2026 | Accepted on 6 March 2025 but kept in the United States for software testing; due in the UK in 2026. Its arrival was not confirmed on an official page by September 2026. | |
| Project NYX autonomous armed dronesOn order | 24 | Up to 24 autonomous armed drones operational by 2030, to fly alongside the upgraded Apaches for reconnaissance, strike and electronic warfare, under the Defence Investment Plan of June 2026.
MoreType, supplier and operating unit not published. |
Every type the Army Air Corps (United Kingdom) has retired
13 types, from the Taylorcraft Auster AOP series to the Westland (Boeing) Apache AH1 (WAH-64D). 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westland (Boeing) Apache AH1 (WAH-64D) | Attack helicopter | 67 | 2001–2024 | AH-64E Apache | 67 ordered; the first eight built by Boeing, the rest by Westland. | |
| Westland (Aérospatiale) Gazelle AH1 | Light observation helicopter | 158 | 1974–2023 | 158 SA 341B for the Army according to Wikipedia. | ||
| Bell 212HP AH1 | Utility helicopter (Brunei) | |||||
| Britten-Norman Islander AL1 and Defender | Surveillance and liaison aircraft | 1989–2019 | ||||
| Westland Lynx AH1, AH7, AH9 and AH9A | Utility and anti-tank helicopter | 113 | 1979–2018 | Wildcat AH1 | 113 AH1 built according to Wikipedia; 22 later upgraded to Mk9A. | |
| Slingsby T67 Firefly and de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk T10 | Elementary trainers | Grob Tutor (RAF-run training) | ||||
| Westland Scout AH1 | General-purpose helicopter | 150 | 1963–1994 | Lynx | About 150 for the AAC, according to Wikipedia. | |
| de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver AL1 | Liaison and observation aircraft | 1961–1989 | Islander AL1 | |||
| Westland/Agusta-Bell Sioux AH1 (Bell 47G) | Light observation helicopter | 300 | 1964–1973 | Gazelle | 50 Agusta-built and 250 Westland-built, some of them for the Royal Marines. | |
| Airspeed Horsa (and other assault gliders) | Assault glider | 1942–1945 | ||||
| Saunders-Roe Skeeter AOP12 | Observation helicopter | 64 | 1958– | Sioux | 64 Skeeter 6 ordered as AOP12. | |
| Sud Aviation Alouette II | Utility helicopter | 1960– | ||||
| Taylorcraft Auster AOP series | Air observation post | 1942– | Skeeter, Beaver |
Where the Army Air Corps flies from
Black pins are active bases, hollow pins the airfields that have closed. British military flying in Germany ended on 11 October 2013, when 1 Regiment left Gütersloh; Hildesheim had been left in 1994 and Detmold handed back in 1995. Odiham and Shawbury are RAF stations, listed for the joint Chinook force and for helicopter training. Gütersloh and Detmold lie in Germany, so a second map shows the United Kingdom at a readable scale. Entries with no published aerodrome data carry no pin.
The United Kingdom
4 of the 12 bases above sit outside the United Kingdom, so the world map has to pull back until the home airfields cannot be told apart. The same pins again, without the overseas bases.
| Base | ICAO | Status | Runway | Units and aircraft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aldergrove Flying StationCounty Antrim, Northern Ireland | EGAA | Active | 07/252,780 masphalt, grooved17/351,891 masphalt, porous friction coat |
|
| Medicina Lines, SeriaBelait District, Brunei | Active |
|
||
| Middle Wallop Flying StationHampshire, England | EGVP | Active |
|
|
| NetheravonWiltshire, England | EGDN | Active |
|
|
| Royal Air Force OdihamHampshire, England | EGVO | Active | 09/271,838 mprc asphalt |
|
| Royal Air Force ShawburyShropshire, England | EGOS | Active | 18/361,831 mblacktop and concrete04/221,375 mblacktop and concrete |
|
| Royal Naval Air Station YeoviltonSomerset, England | EGDY | Active |
|
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| Wattisham Flying StationSuffolk, England | EGUW | Active | 05/232,423 masphalt and concrete |
|
No air base matches that search.
Who is stationed where in the Army Air Corps (United Kingdom)
Flying units by base, current units first. Army Air Corps squadrons are numbered in the 600s, from 651, the first air observation post squadron, formed in 1941, which exchanged its RAF prefix for the letters AAC in 1957. RAF and American units that flew from the same airfields are marked as joint or allied. Where a date rests on Wikipedia alone, the entry says so.
- Headquarters Army Air CorpsCorps headquarters · active
- Headquarters 1st Aviation Brigade Combat TeamBrigade headquarters · active
- 2 (Training) Regiment AACTraining regiment · active
- 7 (Training) Regiment AACTraining regiment (Apache conversion) · active
- Boeing AH-64E Apache (training fleet)
- 5 Regiment AAC (665 Squadron)Aviation regiment · active
- 6 Regiment AAC (Army Reserve)Reserve regiment · reserve
- UK Military Flying Training System rotary-wing trainingContractor-supported flying training · joint
- Airbus H135 Juno HT1
- Army Flying Grading FlightGrading flight · active
- Grob Tutor T1
- Historic Army Aircraft FlightHeritage flight (civilian charity) · active
- No. 609 Squadron RAF1940–1940
- Supermarine Spitfire I
- No. 238 Squadron RAF1940–1941
- Hawker Hurricane I
- No. 604 Squadron RAF1940–1942
- Bristol Blenheim IF, Bristol Beaufighter IF
- 3 Regiment Army Air Corps (653, 662 and 663 Squadrons)Attack helicopter regiment · active
- Boeing AH-64E Apache
- 4 Regiment Army Air Corps (656 and 664 Squadrons)Attack helicopter regiment · active
- Boeing AH-64E Apache
- 7 Aviation Support Battalion REMEAviation maintenance battalion · active
- No. 22 Squadron RAF, B Flight
- Westland Sea King HAR3
- Nos. 23, 56 and 74 Squadrons RAF1976–1992
- McDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR2, McDonnell Douglas F-4J(UK) Phantom (No. 74 Squadron)
- Nos. 29, 56 and 111 Squadrons RAF1958–1976
- English Electric Lightning, Hawker Hunter (No. 111 Squadron, Black Arrows)
- 1 Regiment Army Air Corps (651, 652, 659 and 661 Squadrons)Reconnaissance helicopter regiment · active
- Leonardo (AgustaWestland) AW159 Wildcat AH1
- 9 (Training) Regiment AAC (660 and 670 Squadrons)Helicopter training regiment · active
- Airbus H135 Juno HT1, Airbus H145 Jupiter HT1
- Nos. 7, 18 and 27 Squadrons RAF (UK Chinook Force)Support helicopter squadrons · joint
- Boeing Chinook HC6A
- 5 Regiment AAC (Northern Ireland Regiment AAC until 1993)1979–2024
- Westland Gazelle AH1, Westland Lynx AH7 (655 Squadron), Britten-Norman Islander AL1, Britten-Norman Defender AL1/AL2
- Joint Services Parachute Centre and Army Parachute AssociationParachute training centre · joint
- 7 Regiment AAC1969–2009
- 667 Squadron AAC (7 Flight AAC until 1 August 2021)Jungle support helicopter squadron · active
- Bell 212HP AH1 (to 2022 or 2023), Airbus H145 Jupiter HC2 (from December 2025, per Wikipedia)
No unit matches that search.
Army Air Corps (United Kingdom) milestones, 1914 to today
1 August: No. 651 Squadron, the first air observation post squadron, forms at Old Sarum with Royal Artillery pilots. 21 December: the Glider Pilot Regiment is formed; the National Army Museum dates the first Army Air Corps to the same day.
The Army Air Corps is established (Wikipedia gives 1942) as the corps of the Glider Pilot Regiment and the parachute battalions. November: 651 Squadron goes into action in North Africa.
6 June: glider pilots land the troops who seize the Caen canal and Orne river bridges in Normandy. September: gliders fly into Arnhem.
August: the wartime Army Air Corps is disbanded; the glider pilots and paratroops form the Glider Pilot and Parachute Corps.
July: 1903 Air OP Flight arrives in Korea; with 1913 Light Liaison Flight it flies some 12,000 sorties by January 1955, according to the Army Flying Museum.
1 September: the present Army Air Corps is formed from the Glider Pilot Regiment and the Air OP squadrons,.
The first Scout AH1 turbine helicopters are delivered; the corps goes to Borneo (1962–67) and Aden (1964–67).
The Army’s Operation Banner begins in Northern Ireland; it lasts until 2007, and army helicopters fly throughout.
6 July: No. 660 Squadron becomes the first unit on the Gazelle AH1.
The Lynx AH1 enters AAC service; from 1981 sixty are armed with TOW anti-tank missiles.
656 Squadron fights in the Falklands with Scouts and Gazelles; Gazelle XX377 is shot down by HMS Cardiff on the night of 5–6 June, killing four.
Operation Granby: TOW-armed Lynx and Gazelles fight in the liberation of Kuwait.
October: Joint Helicopter Command is formed, putting the AAC, RAF support helicopters and the Commando Helicopter Force under one tri-service headquarters.
Apache AH1s deploy to Helmand, Afghanistan; by April 2014 they have flown 50,000 hours there.
4 June: Apaches of 656 Squadron strike targets near Brega from HMS Ocean, the first British Army Apache mission flown from a ship.
11 October: 1 Regiment AAC leaves Gütersloh, ending British military flying in Germany.
October: the Gazelle is retired after 49 years; the RAF takes over the Brunei helicopter role in May.
6 March: DE&S accepts the 50th and last AH-64E Apache; the Apache AH1 had been retired on 25 March 2024.
Every war the Army Air Corps has fought
Sorties and losses where the record gives them, and an honest blank where it does not.
- Air observation post squadrons in the Second World War 1942–1945 Spotted and directed artillery fire from light aircraft
- Glider Pilot Regiment airborne operations 1943–1945 Flew assault gliders carrying airborne troops and equipment, then fought on the ground
- Korean War 1951–1955 Artillery observation, photographic reconnaissance, liaison and transport
- Malayan Emergency 1948–1960 Light aircraft observation and liaison
- Borneo confrontation 1962–1967 Reconnaissance, liaison, casualty evacuation and resupply in jungle
The Army Air Corps (United Kingdom) display team
Each team has its own page: history, aircraft, the display, the accidents and the sources.
Army Air Corps (United Kingdom) news from Afterburner
Everything MiGFlug’s magazine has published on the Army Air Corps (United Kingdom) and the aircraft it flies. This list refreshes itself — new Afterburner stories appear here automatically.
Everything people ask about the Army Air Corps (United Kingdom)
What aircraft does the Army Air Corps fly in 2026?
Is the Army Air Corps part of the RAF?
Why is it called the Army Air Corps (United Kingdom)?
When was the Army Air Corps founded?
Who flies the Chinook, the Army or the RAF?
Did the Army Air Corps fight in the Falklands?
Have British Army Apaches flown from ships?
What happened to the Gazelle?
Does the Army Air Corps fly drones?
How many people serve in the Army Air Corps?
Read the aircraft the Army Air Corps (United Kingdom) 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
- British Army: Army Air CorpsCombat aviation arm of the British Army; established 1 September 1957; operations list from Borneo and Aden to Herrick, Telic and Ellamy; locations Middle Wallop (HQ), Shawbury, Yeovilton, Wattisham, Brunei; 1, 3, 4, 5 Regiments and training regiments 2, 7, 9; Apache AH-64E and Wildcat Mk1.
- National Army Museum: Army Air CorpsFirst formed 21 December 1941 as the corps for the Parachute Regiment and Glider Pilot Regiment; disbanded August 1949; re-formed 1957; direct-fire combat arm in 1972; campaign list.
- Army Flying Museum (Middle Wallop)Collections cover the Royal Engineers, Royal Flying Corps, Glider Pilot Regiment, Air OP squadrons and the Army Air Corps from 1878; over 35 aircraft.
- Army Flying Museum: The Falklands War (online exhibition)656 Squadron AAC in 1982: Scouts and Gazelles, 588 operational flying hours, 195 casualties evacuated, Gazelle XX377 shot down by HMS Cardiff with four killed, Scout XR628 lost 8 June.
- Army Flying Museum: The Korean War (online exhibition)1903 Independent Air OP Flight and 1913 Light Liaison Flight, 1951–1955; nearly 3,000 and about 9,000 sorties; losses.
- Army Flying Museum: Apache AH Mk.1 (ZJ224)Came into service with the AAC in 2001; 67 ordered, first eight Boeing-built; ZJ224 with 656 Squadron from 18 August 2003, Operation Glacier 15 January 2007; unveiled at the museum 13 May 2024.
- GOV.UK: Apache flies 50,000 hours on operations in Afghanistan (14 April 2014)50,000 hours in Afghanistan since 2006, one third of all UK Apache flying; 664 Squadron, 4 Regiment AAC.
- GOV.UK: Apaches conduct operations over Libya (4 June 2011)First Apache strikes on 4 June 2011 against a radar installation and a military checkpoint near Brega; Liam Fox: first operational mission flown by British Army Apaches at sea.
- GOV.UK: CDS visits HMS Ocean to praise Libya role (8 November 2011)656 Squadron AAC Apaches allocated 49 missions in four months off Libya.
- GOV.UK: New ‘spy’ drones to give Army greater powers on the battlefield (16 September 2026)Tekever AR5, up to 400 million pounds, six drones rising to 24 by 2029, replacing Watchkeeper (in use since 2014); 16 million pounds for more than 1,025 small drones.
- GOV.UK: Fleet of spy drones to equip British soldiers and back jobs in South West England and Wales (25 July 2026)Project Corvus: Tekever AR5 selected, six initially and up to 24 by 2029, up to 400 million pounds over ten years, replacing Watchkeeper.
- GOV.UK: UK drone transformation to strengthen Armed Forces backed by more than 5 billion pounds (29 June 2026)Defence Investment Plan: Project NYX, up to 24 autonomous armed drones by 2030 working alongside upgraded Apaches; Project Corvus to replace Watchkeeper.
- GOV.UK: Update on Defence capabilities, statement by the Defence Secretary (20 November 2024)46 Watchkeeper Mk1s to be withdrawn, with 17 Pumas and 14 Chinooks; savings of 150 million pounds over two years.
- GOV.UK: The Strategic Defence Review 2025 – Making Britain Safer: secure at home, strong abroadArmy ‘Recce-Strike’ model aiming at a ten-fold increase in lethality; land drones; no specific helicopter programme named in the text checked.
- GOV.UK: British firepower deployed on NATO’s eastern flank in show of force (24 May 2025)4 Regiment AAC AH-64E Apaches firing Hellfire and 30 mm in Finland on Exercise Northern Strike alongside MLRS.
- GOV.UK: British Army flying new elite attack helicopters (21 January 2022)14 AH-64E delivered to Wattisham, 36 more by summer 2024, 50 in all; 20-year Boeing support; training at Middle Wallop.
- GOV.UK: DE&S accepts final AH-64E Apache helicopter for British Army (6 March 2025)50th AH-64E accepted 6 March 2025; 1.7 billion pounds Foreign Military Sale; operational fleet at Wattisham, training at Middle Wallop; 50th airframe stays in the US for software testing, to the UK in 2026.
- GOV.UK: 1,200 UK jobs supported by nearly 900 million pounds defence deal to keep military helicopters mission-ready (15 April 2026)879 million pounds, three-year Boeing Defence UK support for Army Apache and RAF Chinook; sites include Middle Wallop and Wattisham.
- GOV.UK: New Wildcat helicopter unveiled (11 July 2012)62 Wildcats: 34 Army and 28 maritime; Army in service 2014, Navy 2015; replacing the Lynx.
- GOV.UK: General Sir Patrick Sanders DSEI 2023 keynote speech (12 September 2023)“all 50 AH64-E by the end of 2024”; a new UAS Group within a reorientated Joint Aviation Command.
- The London Gazette, issue 64724Major General M. R. Keating CBE appointed Colonel Commandant Army Air Corps 11 April 2025, succeeding Lieutenant General Sir Nicholas Borton.
- GOV.UK: End of British military flying in Germany (11 October 2013)1 Regiment AAC leaves Gütersloh with its Lynx; last British military flying in Germany; conversion to Wildcat in the UK.
- GOV.UK: Upgraded Army Lynx helicopter fleet complete (16 December 2011)22 Lynx Mk9A delivered by 15 December 2011; first in Afghanistan 25 May 2010.
- GOV.UK: Five UK service personnel killed in Afghanistan (Lynx, 26 April 2014)Lynx Mk9A lost in Kandahar province on 26 April 2014; five killed, three of them Army Air Corps.
- GOV.UK: Five personnel in Basra helicopter crash named (6 May 2006)847 Naval Air Squadron Lynx lost over Basra; Captain David Dobson AAC among the five killed.
- GOV.UK: Apaches take off for Estonia (15 April 2019)First Apache deployment to Estonia: 663 Squadron, 3 Regiment AAC, Exercise Spring Storm, Operation Cabrit.
- GOV.UK: British Army unveils most radical transformation in decades (25 November 2021)Future Soldier: AH-64E Apache and uncrewed aerial systems among the new equipment.
- GOV.UK: UK Armed Forces Equipment and Formations 2025 (30 October 2025)At 1 April 2025 the Army Air Corps had 8 regiments (7 Regular, 1 Reserve); rotary-wing totals rose with the AH-64E.
- GOV.UK: Army Air Corps praise new facilities at RNAS Yeovilton (11 February 2016)1 Regiment AAC moved from Gütersloh and Dishforth to Yeovilton; Army and Navy Wildcats at one main operating base; 14 million pounds of infrastructure.
- GOV.UK: New helicopter deal boosts UK’s investment in military flying training to 2.8 billion pounds (20 May 2016)1.1 billion pounds rotary-wing contract: H135 and H145 at Shawbury, Middle Wallop and Valley for all three services.
- GOV.UK: Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard MP’s speech at DVD 2026 (16 September 2026)Project Nyx armed autonomous drones to fly alongside Apache; contract with Tekever for 24 AR5 drones into service by 2029 to replace Watchkeeper.
- United Kingdom Military Aeronautical Information Publication, AD 2 aerodrome textual dataNo. 1 AIDU. Wattisham, Odiham and Shawbury values as recorded from this AIP in the MiGFlug RAF dataset; not re-fetched for this file (the AD 2 PDFs could not be reached).
- UK AIP (NATS), AD 2 EGAA Belfast/Aldergrove (AIRAC 3 September 2026)ARP 54 39 27 N, 006 12 57 W, elevation 268 ft, runways 07/25 and 17/35; military apron of Aldergrove Flying Station by PPR.
- Airshows Present: Middle Wallop airfield historyEnthusiast history; single source for the August 1940 raids, the 67th Reconnaissance Group’s pre-D-Day sorties and the 1955 JEHU. Used with attribution only.
- The Royal Family: The King hands over the role of Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps (13 May 2024)Handover to the Prince of Wales at the Army Aviation Centre; 31 years in the role; Apache AH Mk1 plaque; the King’s remarks.
- Army Flying Museum: About usCollection begun at RAF Andover in 1946; opened to the public 1974; purpose-built hangar 1984; only Apache AH Mk1 on permanent public display in the UK.
- Army Flying Museum: Historic Army Aircraft FlightVolunteer charity at Middle Wallop, established 2015, flying ex-Army aircraft 60 to 80 years old.
- Royal Air Force: RAF OdihamFront-line support helicopter base within Joint Aviation Command; Nos. 7, 18 and 27 Squadrons, Chinook.
- Royal Air Force: RAF Shawbury660 Squadron AAC re-formed 1997; 670 Squadron into 9 Regiment AAC 2018; No. 1 FTS; Juno and Jupiter.
Figures verified 2026-09-30. 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: SAC Tim Laurence / Wikimedia Commons (OGL v1.0) · Photo: Oren Rozen / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Anna Zvereva from Tallinn, Estonia / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: HawkeyeUK / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: Steve Lynes from Sandshurst, United Kingdom / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) · Photo: Andrew Thomas from Shrewsbury, UK / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: Nick / from United Kingdom / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) · Photo: RuthAS / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0) · Photo: Tim Felce (Airwolfhound) / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: Mark Harkin / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) · Photo: Peter Davies, MoD / Wikimedia Commons (OGL v1.0) · Photo: allen watkin from London, UK / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: Goodchild A (Pilot Officer), Royal Air Force official photographer / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)