Aircraft

The Australian Defence Force will establish a new joint helicopter school at HMAS Albatross at Nowra, New South Wales early next decade, under the A$500-700 million ($450-630 million) Helicopter Aircrew Training System project, defence minister Brendan Nelson has announced.

Outlined in February, the new system will replace aircrew training on army Bell OH-58 Kiowa and navy Eurocopter AS350 Squirrel (pictured below) helicopters as part of a broader integrated training strategy intended to better prepare aircrew to operate frontline types including the Boeing CH-47 Chinook, Eurocopter Tiger, Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite, NH Industries MRH90, and Sikorsky S-70 Black Hawk and UH-60 Seahawk.

© Australian DoD

Construction of new hangars and facilities at Nowra will start in 2012, and undergraduate aircrew training will follow from 2013. The school will train up to 60 pilots, 40 aircrewmen/loadmasters and 12 observers per year.