Army Aviation Operates Nearly 500 Helicopters

4 July 2008

General Ma Xiangsheng, the head of the PLA’s Army Aviation Department, revealed the current strength of the Army Aviation Corps for the first time to some 60 foreign military attaches during a conference held by the Foreign Affair Office of the Ministry of National Defence (MND) on 4 July, China New Agency reports.

Ma said that 22 years after its establishment, the Army Aviation Corps is gradually transforming itself from a pure aviation force for support role to a combined air-land force tasked with airborne assault role. Its equipments have also developed from pure transport helicopters to a mixture of both transport and attack helicopters.

Ma confirmed that the Army Aviation Corps was established in the mid-1980s during the 1 million force reduction in order to improve the Army’s combined operations and rapid reaction capabilities. The first Army Aviation units were activated in late 1987. More units and the Army Aviation Academy were formed during the 500,000 force reduction in the late 1990s.

Ma revealed that currently the Army Aviation Corps has “over 10 units and nearly 500 helicopters“. This is the first time that the PLA officially confirmed the exact size of its helicopter fleet.

Ma said that as well as performing combat roles, the Army Aviation Corps has also been involved in a wide range of non-military operations, including internal security, disaster relief, assisting the country’s economic development, and foreign cooperation.

According to Ma, “several dozens” of Army Aviation helicopters will be deployed during the 2008 Beijing Olympic for security role.