Every war and operation Australian Army Aviation has flown in
In Korea and Malaya, before the corps existed, Australian artillery officers flew with British air observation post units, and they are recorded as the corps’ lineage. Several entries are peacekeeping or assistance missions with no opponent. Casualty figures of the Bougainville conflict itself are disputed and are not given, and the purpose of the 2006 deployment off Fiji is not stated in the sources. Where a consolidated sortie or loss figure exists in the official record it is given here; where accounts disagree, the range is shown and the disagreement named. Blank cells are blank because no figure could be verified, not because the fighting was small.
From artillery spotters in Korea in 1951 to Chinooks over southern Afghanistan until 2013.
| Conflict | Years | Against | Main aircraft | Sorties | Aircraft lost | |
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| Korean WarAustralian AOP pilots with 1903 FlightRoyal Australian Artillery pilots (Air Observation Post) | 1951–1953 | North Korea and China | Auster AOP | |||
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Five Australian Army pilots flew artillery observation with the British No. 1903 Air Observation Post Flight. There was no Australian Army aviation unit in Korea. What there was, according to the Fourays history, was a handful of artillery officers attached to the British 1903 AOP Flight between 1951 and 1953, flying light aircraft to direct gunfire. Five Australians served, and one, Captain Joe Luscombe, was killed on 5 June 1952. Outcome Armistice 1953; the experience kept the AOP idea alive in the Army. Aircraft types and sortie numbers for the Australians were not confirmed.
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| Malayan EmergencyArmy pilots in MalayaAustralian Army pilots (Air Observation Post) | 1953 | Malayan National Liberation Army | ||||
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Army pilots were deployed to Malaya for security operations. The Fourays history records only that Army pilots went to Malaya in 1953 for security operations, presumably again with British AOP units; numbers, units and dates beyond the year were not found. Outcome No Australian Army aviation unit was formed for the Emergency. Thinly documented; single source.
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| Vietnam War161 (Independent) Reconnaissance Flight161 Reconnaissance Flight (1st Aviation Regiment) | 1965–1972 | North Vietnam and Viet Cong | Cessna 180, Bell 47G-3B-1 Sioux, Pilatus Turbo-Porterand 2 more | |||
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Reconnaissance, artillery spotting and liaison flying for Australian forces. 161 Reconnaissance Flight was raised from 16 Army Light Aircraft Squadron in mid-1965 under Major Paul Lipscombe and was the Army’s only flying unit in the war; the RAAF flew the troop-lift Iroquois. Fourays has it arriving at Vung Tau on 28 September 1965 and flying its first operational sortie on 22 October; Wikipedia gives 13 September 1965 for the deployment. Over almost seven years the flight’s Cessnas, Sioux, Turbo-Porters, borrowed O-1s and eight leased OH-58As flew more than 72,000 hours. The experience was the argument for forming the Australian Army Aviation Corps in 1968. Outcome The flight was withdrawn in 1972; Wikipedia gives 7 March 1972 for the departure. Dates of arrival differ between sources (13 versus 28 September 1965); raising month June (Wikipedia) or July (Fourays) 1965.
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| UN Transitional Authority in CambodiaBlack Hawks for the 1993 election5th Aviation Regiment | 1993 | S-70A-9 Black Hawk | 0 | |||
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Six Black Hawks in UN white delivered and recovered ballot boxes for the UN-run election. Four years after taking over the RAAF’s helicopters, the Army sent six Black Hawks, painted white with UN markings, to support the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia during the 1993 election. Outcome Fourays calls it the Black Hawk’s first operational mission; Wikipedia dates it May–July 1993. |
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| Bougainville peace process1994 conference support and Operation Bel Isi5th Aviation Regiment; 1st Aviation Regiment (Iroquois) | 1994–2001 | S-70A-9 Black Hawk, UH-1H Iroquois | 0 | |||
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Five Black Hawks supported the 1994 peace process; four red-painted UH-1H Iroquois supported the unarmed Truce and Peace Monitoring Groups from May 1998 to August 2001. The Bougainville conflict of 1988–1998 between the Papua New Guinea government and the Bougainville Revolutionary Army ended in a truce monitored by unarmed regional groups. Army aviation took part twice: five Black Hawks in 1994, and from May 1998 to August 2001 four Iroquois painted red. Casualty figures from the conflict itself are disputed and are not given here. Outcome The Army helicopters left in August 2001.
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| East Timor (INTERFET, UNTAET, Operation Astute)Black Hawks and Kiowas in Timor5th Aviation Regiment, 1st Aviation Regiment | 1999–2008 | S-70A-9 Black Hawk, Bell 206B-1 Kiowa, UH-1H Iroquois | ||||
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Troop lift, reconnaissance and liaison for the Australian-led INTERFET force from September 1999, the UN missions that followed, and Operation Astute from 2006. After the UN-run referendum of 1999, Kiowas from the 1st Aviation Regiment and Black Hawks from the 5th were among the first forces deployed with INTERFET in September 1999, the Kiowa’s first operational deployment since its introduction, long after its planned retirement date. Black Hawks stayed with the UN missions to 2006, and when unrest broke out in 2006 more Black Hawks and Kiowas returned under Operation Astute. Outcome Kiowas finally left in 2008.
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| Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon IslandsRAMSI1st Aviation Regiment (per Fourays) | 2003 | UH-1H Iroquois | 0 | |||
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Four Iroquois supported the police-led assistance mission. Four Iroquois deployed with the Australian-led RAMSI intervention in 2003 and were withdrawn in October that year. Outcome Withdrawn in October 2003. Black Hawks returned to support the March 2019 elections (Wikipedia). Single source for the 2003 detachment. |
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| Iraq War (Operation Falconer)Chinooks for the special forcesC Squadron, 5th Aviation Regiment | 2003 | Iraq (Ba’athist government) | CH-47D Chinook | 0 | ||
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Three CH-47D Chinooks supported Australian special forces during the invasion of Iraq. Australia’s contribution to the 2003 invasion included a special forces task group; three Chinooks from C Squadron, 5th Aviation Regiment, deployed to the Middle East to support it. Outcome Wikipedia dates the deployment March–May 2003. |
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| War in Afghanistan (Operation Slipper)Chinooks and Shadows5th Aviation Regiment; 20th Regiment RAA (UAS) | 2006–2013 | Taliban | CH-47D Chinook, RQ-7B Shadow 200 | 2 | ||
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A two-Chinook detachment flew heavy lift for ISAF on successive rotations; Shadow drones flew surveillance from May 2012. The Army’s longest war deployment since Vietnam was flown by just two Chinooks at a time, under ISAF control in southern Afghanistan between 2006 and 2013. One crashed in Zabul Province on 30 May 2011, killing Lieutenant Marcus Case, a passenger; a second was destroyed in a hard landing in Kandahar Province on 22 June 2012. From May 2012 the artillery’s Shadow 200 unmanned aircraft also flew in the country. Outcome Final rotation ended in September 2013 (Wikipedia, 5th Aviation Regiment). Hours, sorties and loads not published.
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| Deployment off FijiBlack Hawk 221Army Black Hawk detachment | 2006 | S-70A-9 Black Hawk | 1 | |||
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Black Hawks embarked in HMAS Kanimbla for a deployment to Fiji in late 2006. Fourays records a Black Hawk deployment to Fiji in late 2006. On 29 November 2006 Black Hawk 221 crashed while landing on HMAS Kanimbla and sank in international waters. The inquiry that followed is credited by Wikipedia with prompting the formation of the 6th Aviation Regiment for special operations aviation. Outcome The board of inquiry into the crash led to the raising of the 6th Aviation Regiment on 1 March 2008 (Wikipedia). The operation name and the purpose of the deployment were not given in the sources checked.
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Nothing matches that search.
Every figure, checked
- Fourays: The forties and fiftiesAir Observation Post revival; five Australians with 1903 AOP Flight in Korea 1951–1953; Captain Joe Luscombe killed 5 June 1952; Malaya 1953; 1 Army Aviation Company at Bankstown 1957; Cessna 180A replaced Auster Mk III 1958; 16 AOP Flight disbanded 30 November 1960.
- Fourays: The sixties16 ALA Squadron formed 1 December 1960 at Amberley; 161 Reconnaissance Flight raised July 1965, at Vung Tau 28 September 1965, first sortie 22 October 1965, more than 72,000 hours, three pilots killed; corps formed 1 July 1968 with 106 officers; Oakey to Army 1 July 1969.
- Fourays: The ninetiesAS350B Squirrel 1990; Porter withdrawn October 1992; six Black Hawks to Cambodia 1993; five to Bougainville 1994; Nomads withdrawn 1995; first CH-47D mid-1995; 12 June 1996 collision; leased King Air and Twin Otter late 1996; PNG and Irian Jaya drought relief 1997–1998; Iroquois on Bougainville May 1998–August 2001; AAvnTC formed 1998; East Timor 1999.
- Fourays: 2000 and beyondHQ 16 Brigade (Aviation) raised 2 April 2002; 22 Tigers ordered 2001, first two delivered at Oakey 2004; MRH 90 selected August 2004, 46 with six for the Navy, first delivered 2007; Huey farewell October 2007; Fiji Black Hawk crash 2006 (Captain Mark Bingley killed); Iraq 2003 Chinooks; Afghanistan Chinook crash May 2011 (Lieutenant Marcus Case killed); Solomons 2003; East Timor 2006, Kiowa withdrawn 2008; fixed wing ended 2009.
- 161 Recce Flight AssociationAssociation preserving the history of 161 Recce Flight (South Vietnam 1965–1972) and 161 Recce Squadron; collection displayed at the Oakey museum.
Figures verified 2026-10-01. Back to the Australian Army Aviation.