An advance flight of the Australian army’s new Tiger ARH Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters has taken up station in Australia’s far north, occupying recently completed purpose-built facilities at Darwin, home of the army’s 1st Armored Brigade.

They are the first three of 17 Tigers which, ultimately, will form two flying squadrons of the 1st Aviation Regiment – fast attack helicopters which are replacing the Australian army’s OH-58 Kiowas and UH-1 Iroquois-based “Bushranger” gunships. It is the first time in the regiment’s forty-three year history that the entire regiment has been housed in the same location. Announcing the arrival of the first three Tigers, Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said the helicopters represented a major advance for the army’s capability, providing the Australian Defence Force (ADF) with highly capable sensors for day and night reconnaissance and surveillance operations, communications and networking, and a formidable weapons system including the Hellfire precision guided missile and 30- millimeter chin-mounted gun. “It is fair to say that our troops in the north have never had any equipment like this before, and it is a credit to the ADF and industry based in Darwin that they can support such an advanced capability,” Mr. Fitzgibbon said. CEO of prime contractor Australian Aerospace Limited, Jens Goennemann said, “The program has not been without issues, and that is not unusual for such a technically complex undertaking, but, despite this, we managed to keep moving the project forward while seeking resolutions. Seeing these outstanding aircraft as they begin to enter squadron service underscores the excellent cooperative working relationship Australian Aerospace has developed with its partners in the ADF, and augers well for the success of other current and possible future programs.” The new Tiger facilities at Darwin’s Robertson Barracks will be home base for the 161st and 162nd squadrons of Army’s Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter Regiment, along with the specialist maintenance and logistics support team from Australian Aerospace. Dubbed the “Gaza Lines”, the new facility was purpose- built to support the Tiger capability, including operational and deep maintenance of the aircraft. Australian Aerospace is also providing two EC135 helicopters in Darwin for a period of two years which will be used to advance Tiger aircrew pilot training schedules. Late last year, Australian Aerospace delivered a Tiger Full Flight & Mission Simulator (FFMS) and other training devices to the army’s Aviation Training Center in Oakey, Queensland.