The Army Aviation Corps (AAC) is a service arm of the PLA ground forces, containing all of its helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft units. The PLA Air Force (PLAAF) and PLA Navy (PLAN) both have their own helicopter units. Formed in 1986, the AAC is the newest service arm in the PAL ground forces.
In the mid-1980s, the PLA decided to develop an air mobile capability in the ground forces and formed the Army Aviation Bureau under the PLA General Staff Department (GSD) in 1986. The first operational army aviation regiments were activated in mid-1988, with personnel and about 50 helicopters transferred from the PLAAF. The Beijing-based Army Aviation Corps Academy was established in June 1996, and the Army Aviation Bureau was upgraded to the Army Aviation Department in 2003.
The basic operation unit in the AAC is a helicopter regiment, each with 20 to 30 helicopters. Although most helicopter regiments are assigned to a particular group army, their helicopters are shared by among the many ground forces units in the same military region during operations. There are 10 helicopter regiments (including a training regiment). Command and control for these regiments originates from the Army Aviation Department under the GSD, and is exercised through the Army Aviation Offices in eight military region headquarters (Shenyang, Beijing, Lanzhou, Xinjiang, Jinan, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Chengdu).
The AAC operates 500~600 helicopters built in China and others purchased from Russia, Europe, and the United States. These helicopters perform a variety of missions, including troop transport, close air support, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, mine laying, medical evacuation, and special operations. The AAC also deploys a very small number of fixed-wing turboprop transport aircraft.
