AUSTRALIA retired its fleet of 22 EC665 Tiger attack helicopters, marking a milestone in the Australian Army Aviation’s transition to the new Boeing AH-64E Apaches. Known as the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters (ARH), the Tigers were retired from service with the 1st Aviation Regiment set to move away from Darwin to Townsville.
Originally acquired in 2001, the helicopters have been in service since 2004 and have participated in international exercises, most recently taking part in the trilateral Exercise Keris Strike in Malaysia with the US and Malaysian Army as its final international appearance. When introduced into Australian service, the ARH Tiger combined the capabilities of the unarmed Kiowa reconnaissance helicopter and the Bushranger armed version of the Iroquois utility helicopter, into a single platform that integrated intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, electronic warfare and strike effects.
To date, Australia has received six units of the Apache as part of a 29-unit US$3.1 billion Foreign Military Sales (FMS) agreement back in 2022. The AH-64E conducted its first live-fire activities in July during Exercise Possum Guns, including the firing of its 30mm gun, rockets and AGM-114 Hellfire missiles. All 29 Apaches are slated to be delivered by the end of 2029.–-shp/adj/dl (Pix:ADJ, AUS DOD)
