Aussie Army Looking For Tiger Pilots

The Watcher

New Member
Hey our friend Gremlin29 maybe interested in this... :D

Aussie friends, can we have some pictures of these puppies?

Aussie Army Looking For Tiger Pilots


http://www.defencetalk.com/news/publish/printer_1206.shtml

The Australian Army is recruiting people to fly the latest state-of-the-art armed reconnaissance helicopters.

Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence, Mal Brough said, following a comprehensive training program, new recruits will have the chance to fly the multi-million ‘Tiger’ helicopter which is part of the Australian Government’s preparation for the future of Army aviation.

During a visit to Australia Aerospace in Brisbane, which has started production on some of the 22 Armed Reconnaissance ‘Tiger’ Helicopters (ARH) being built for the Army, Mr. Brough said recruitment of pilots would be vital to utilizing this new capability.
“Defence has recently increased its quota for Army pilot training from 40 to 56 candidates each year,†Mr. Brough said.

“I anticipate those numbers will be comprised of both newcomers to the field of aviation and pilots from the civilian sector who are seeking a career in the Army, flying the armed reconnaissance aircraft. The next intake will commence basic flying training in February this year.â€

Four of the ARH Tigers are being fully produced in Europe. The remaining 18 are to be assembled at the Australia Aerospace facility in Brisbane.
Ground testing of the first Tiger is due to start at Marignane in France next month with the first two aircraft to be delivered to Australia around the end of the year. Three ARH aircraft are currently in the early stages of assembly at the Brisbane facility. [Why are they going to test in France???]

Once complete, the ARH Tiger will have advanced sensor and communication suites for information gathering, a 30 mm turreted gun, 70mm rockets and a Hellfire air-to-ground precision missile system.

Two ARH Tiger helicopter squadrons will be based in Darwin. They will support the Australian Defence Force in reconnaissance and fighting missions and provide armed escort support for troop transport helicopters.

General Army pilot training begins with a six-month course in basic flying training on fixed wing aircraft at Tamworth. Helicopter training is then conducted at Oakey where pilots earn their ‘wings’, after which they are allocated to an operational aircraft type and undertake further training with an emphasis on tactics.
 

Winter

New Member
The British Army had serious problems with this...They received an entire new fleet of Apache gunships, then found they didn't have enough recruits, and that it took much longer to train them than US equivalents...The bottom line is now delays in deployment and a portion of the brand new fleet has actually been sent into permeneant inactive storage, just short of mothballing. The mess has been quite expensive to resolve too. Let's hope the circumstances here are much different.
 

Gremlin29

Super Moderator
Staff member
Verified Defense Pro
If Australia would have me I would be there in a heartbeat!! Back in the old days when I was in flight school (Fort Rucker) I had actually stopped into the Australian Liaison office several times to chat and they were just top notch super people there! I've also worked with a few from Oz and if there is anyone you want backing you up in a fight it would be those guys.

At any rate, I'd fly kites if it meant a ticket to Oz!! :D
 

gf0012-aust

Grumpy Old Man
Staff member
Verified Defense Pro
I think we still have 2 year exchanges running. I know that we do 2 year transfers with US Specforces. There's a few Canadian Hornet drivers in the RAAF and we also picked up a few Kiwis when they lost their combat wings.

IIRC we have a couple of ex USMC's as well - spoke to one a few at a weapons conference a few years back, he'd decided to get married and stay as well, so i think his 2 years became a lot longer.. ;)
 
A

Aussie Digger

Guest
Our Tigers will look a little bit different to that photo, being painted in different colours and all... They test all aircraft at the factory before they deliver them, it'd be rather embarassing otherwise if the shiny new helicopters turned up and didn't work, might make people wonder if the choice was that wise... Plus people should remember that the demonstration Tiger helicopter actually crashed in Australia a few years ago when the Army was evaluating it. I didn't then think we'd actually get any...
 
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