Australia to redeploy 1st Aviation Regiment to Townsville

Australia will likely use the AH-64E Apaches with its Canberra-class Landing Helicopter Docks. In this photo, a US Army AH-64E lands on HMAS Canberra during a training activity at Sydney in February 2023. (Commonwealth of Australia)

The Australian government has announced plans to redeploy the army’s 1st Aviation Regiment to Townsville and support the unit with infrastructural improvements at the new site.

The 1st Aviation Regiment is set to be equipped with the 29 new Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopters ordered by Canberra in 2023. The Apaches will be based at Townsville from 2025, the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) said.

“The Army’s 1st Aviation Regiment will commence relocating from Darwin to Townsville from early 2025, in advance of AH-64E Apache aircraft deliveries commencing,” a DoD spokesperson said. Janes understands that the regiment’s relocation will be “incremental”.

According to Janes