| Argentine Army Aviation | |
|---|---|
| Comando de Aviación de Ejército | |
 Argentine Army Aviation wings | |
| Active | 1912 – 1945 1956 - present |
| Country |  Argentina |
| Branch | Argentine Army |
| Type | Army aviationCommand |
| Part of | Army Ministry of Defense Army Enlistment and Training Command |
| Command HQ | Campo de Mayo Military Airfield |
| Engagements | Operativo Independencia Falklands War (Spanish:Guerra de las Malvinas) |
| Commanders | |
| Commander-in-Chief | President |
| Chief of Staff of the Army | General |
| Chief of AvEjer | Colonel |
| Insignia | |
| Roundel |  |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Cargo helicopter | Aérospatiale SA 332B Super Puma[1] |
| Multirole helicopter | Bell UH-1H Iroquois[1] |
| Transport | CASA C-212-200 Aviocar,Cessna 208B Grand Caravan,Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EX[1] |
| North American Sabreliner 75A,Cessna 550B Citation Bravo II[1] | |
TheArgentine Army Aviation (Spanish:Comando de Aviación de Ejército,AvEj) is thearmy aviation branch of theArgentine Army. Their members have the same rank insignia and titles as the rest of the Army. The Army Aviation Command is based at theCampo de Mayo Military Airfield.[2][3]
Alongside its primary role of supporting Army operations, the Army Aviation is highly involved in humanitarian aid missions, emergency relief, medical evacuations and forestfirefighting.[4]
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Military aviation in Argentina can be traced back to theParaguayan War when, on 8 July 1867, Staff Sergeant Roberto A. Chodasiewicz used anobservation balloon during thebattle of Humaitá.[5] Since then, the army has been the main driving force behind the national aeronautical development. The use of enthusiastic students who relied on the selfless support of civil institutions and air clubs, saw the creation of theMilitary Aviation School atEl Palomar in 1912.[6]
The establishment of theArmy Aviation Service (in Spanish,Servicio de Aviación del Ejército) saw a great expansion of Argentine air power in the 1912–1945 period, and supported the development of civil aviation in Argentina.[7] The creation of the first aviation units and the foundation of theFábrica Militar de Aviones in the 1920s were the beginning of a process that lead to the creation of theArgentine Air Force in 1945, to which the Army transferred its aircraft and related installations.[8]
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In 1956, Army Aviation was re-established within the Army and began a major expansion, incorporating new types of aircraft and opening new bases around the country. In 1965, using aCessna U-17 they performed their first expedition to theSouth Pole.[9]
During the 1970s the service consolidated itself as an important branch of the Army receiving aircraft such as theAeritalia G.222 transport which caused friction with the Argentine Air Force. The expansion plans continued in the early 1980s with the incorporation of theAgusta A109 utility and theBoeing CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters.[10]
Thedictatorship that took power in 1976 increasedtensions with Chile which reached their highest point during the 1978Operation Soberanía where the Army Aviation performed major deployments.[11]
In 1982, theMilitary Junta invaded theFalkland Islands (Spanish:Islas Malvinas) triggering a ten-week-long war against theUnited Kingdom. The Argentine Army Aviation deployed 2CH-47 Chinooks, 3Agusta A109, 6SA330 Pumas and 9UH-1Hs to the islands, where they performed 796 general support flights under harsh operating conditions. Their helicopters were also extensively used inPatagonia and the Army also took over theprovincial police'sMBB Bo 105s during the conflict.[12]
Six Army aviation members died in the war.[13] Two army helicopters were shot down, six destroyed on the ground, and ten were captured. Some of these captured were used by British Army and other used as targets for RAF ground attack training.[14]
After the war, theAerospatiale Super Puma was incorporated, mainly forAntarctica support duties operating from Navy's icebreakerARAAlmirante Irizar.[15] In 1998, Argentina was grantedMajor Non-NATO ally status by United States PresidentBill Clinton[16] and the Army Aviation began an expansive program that included the reception ofOV-1 Mohawks and surplusUH-1H from theUS Army. The US also authorized the delivery of 12AH-1F Cobra gunships[17][18] but the operation was halted by the Argentine Government.
In the 1990s, the Aviation Army began itsUnmanned aerial vehicle program, the Lipan series.picture In 2007, theMinistry of Defense evaluated the ChineseChanghe Z-11 (Argentine indexAE-350)[19] and 40 are to be built.[20] Also in 2007, the Army unveiled the indigenousCicaré CH-14 Aguilucho scout prototypevideo. A major update program is currently[when?] underway refitting the Hueys to theHuey II variant. In March 2010 it was announced the purchase of five Bell 206 for the Jointarmed forces school.[21]
Army aircraft with tactical camouflage have adopted high-visibility yellow markingsEjército (Spanish for “Army”)[22][23] in order to encourage the national press to stop referring to them as belonging to theair force.[24]
In the 2014 celebration of the Argentine Army Aviation day, the following actions to improve capabilities were confirmed:[25]
Currently,[when?] Argentina has expressed interest in buying surplus US equipment and authorization granted by US government. This may involve transport or scout helicopters.
The Army Aviation Command was renamed[when?] as “Army Aviation Directorate” (Dirección de Aviación de Ejército). Eight years later recovered its previous name, while going to depend of theArmy Enlistment and Training Command.[1][26]
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The main airbase is located atCampo de Mayo where training and maintenance is done. The units based there are[when?] as follows:[27]
The service has also permanent forward location bases assigned to both division and brigade HQ levels.
The Argentine Army gets its pilots from two main sources. One is the officers who graduate from the Military College and then volunteer for the Army Aviator Course. This course lasts one year and takes place at either the Air Force Academy, in Córdoba (for fixed wing aircraft), or the Army Aviation School (for helicopters), in Campo de Mayo, outside Buenos Aires. Since 2009, these two schools are the only training centers for pilots from the three armed services. The other source is civilian pilots who, after a ten-month course at the Military Academy, join the Army Aviation as 2nd lieutenants.
While College-graduated officers are called “Army Aviators” and those coming from civilian life are “Army Pilots”, there are no specific technical differences between them. However, “Army Pilots” can only reach the rank of colonel. Also, “Army Aviators” retain their original branch (i.e. Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, Engineers, Signals or Ordnance) and can be posted to their branch's units in case of need. “Army Pilots”, instead, can only serve in Army Aviation units or related positions, as they have no other capability.[29]
The Argentine Army Aviation current inventory includes the following aircraft.
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