The 16th Aviation Support Battalion centralising support and maintenance operations in preparation for new choppers

As Townsville based aviators prepare for the arrival of Apache helicopters, a new battalion has been created to increase the agility and capability of teams on the ground and in the sky.

Australian Army soldiers prepare to conduct a refuel on a CH-47F Chinook helicopter from 5th Aviation Regiment at a hot refuel point during Exercise Helicon Luk at Papua New Guinea. PHOTO: MAJ Carolyn Barnett

As Townsville prepares to be the home of apache and chinook helicopters, a new battalion has taken shape to assist the army in the sky.

The 16th Aviation Support Battalion (16ASB) is the newest addition to North Queensland’s army capability, bringing a more centralised approach instead of having maintenance, refuelling, rearming and logistics capabilities spread out across different regiments.

The Commanding Officer for 16ASB, Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Porada, said they realised they needed a “new way of doing business” as the brigade transitioned out of using the MRH-90 and prepared for the arrival of the 29 Apache helicopters from Darwin.

“It’s that careful yet deliberate evolution or adaptation to meet the challenges of the future,” he said.

The Commanding Officer for 16th Aviation Support Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Porada

The first Apaches will begin arriving at the end of this year, meaning Townsville will soon be home to the 16th Aviation brigade headquarters which moved up in 2023 alongside the 5th aviation regiment, the 1st aviation regiment and now the addition of 16ASB.

“There isn’t space for two logistic support squadrons … so part of this is just trying to be more optimised to the physical constraints (of the base),” Lieutenant Colonel Porada said.

“It is also when these units go forward to train or to deploy, we need to keep things running back here and having a firm foot on the ground that isn’t eating into the headspace of the aviation flying (commanding officers).”

The commanding officer of the 5th aviation regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Bremner said the new support battalion allows his team to focus on their work in the sky.

“It’s a good opportunity for us to focus on simply the war fighting or aviation element and allow them to look after both the deep maintenance components as well as the ground crew support for the aircraft,” he said.

Originally published as The 16th Aviation Support Battalion centralising support and maintenance operations in preparation for new choppers