Urban training takes flight
Australian Army personnel conducted aviation training with UH-60M Black Hawks across the greater Sydney and Goulburn regions throughout October and November.
CAPTION: An Australian Army UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter flies through Blacktown, NSW, during a training exercise. Story by Captain Chloe Ellwood. Photo by Private C.
The exercise provided specialised counter-terrorism training for pilots and aircrew, enhancing their ability to work within the special operations environment.
The crews were tasked with responding to simulated threat scenarios on Defence bases and within urban environments.
One of the Black Hawk pilots from 16th Aviation Brigade said the training enabled Army to generate new crews.
“Without this, we would not have qualified and competent pilots or aircrew to meet the requirements,” he said
Tasked with remaining ready for domestic counter-terrorism operations, he said Army’s Black Hawk fleet benefited from training in urban environments.
“A key part of our role is domestic counter-terrorism, so if we were to be used it would be in an urban setting. However, they are quite a complex environment,” he said.
CAPTION: An Australian Army UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter comes onto an urban target during a training exercise in Goulburn, NSW. Photo by Private C
“It is important for us to move away from our usual training areas to ensure that we are not too familiar with the targets. This ensures that the crews are ready, and ultimately prepares us for the unknown.”
As part of the training, aircrews conducted a mission on a multi-storey car park in central Blacktown, NSW.
Two Black Hawks dropped off a ground force, before departing the location and returning to retrieve the force on completion of its mission.
The pilot said the aircrews loved the teamwork aspect of this type of training.
“We’ve all got very defined roles and have a small part of the pie that we’re responsible for,” he said.
“When you go out and execute a mission and it goes well and to plan, it is a pretty amazing feeling knowing that all of those individual parts have come together.
CAPTION: Two Australian Army UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters conduct a hot refuel during a training exercise in Goulburn, NSW. Photo by Nicholas Haggarty.
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