5 Regiment Army Air Corps is a regiment of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and is part of the

Joint Helicopter Command Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) is a tri-service organisation uniting battlefield military helicopters of the British Armed Forces for command and coordination purposes. History Background Over the years, the grouping of all battlefield suppo ...

(JHC). The regiment is based in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

at JHC Flying Station Aldergrove.

History

5 Regiment traces its origin to the Northern Ireland Regiment formed on 1 November 1979 at RAF Aldergrove. On 1 October 1993, the Northern Ireland Regiment was renamed 5 Regiment AAC. The regiment consisted of No. 655 (The Scottish Horse) Squadron AAC, No. 665 Squadron AAC and 1 Flight AAC. 655 Squadron operated the Westland Lynx AH7 helicopter. 665 Squadron operated the Westland Gazelle AH1 helicopter. 1 Flight operated the fixed wing

Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a British light utility aircraft and regional airliner designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. Still in production, the Islander is one of the best-selling commercial air ...

aircraft which had entered service on 10 March 1989. The primary task of 1 Flight was photo reconnaissance under the direction of the Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre (Northern Ireland) (RIC(NI). In 2000, the (RIC(NI)) was renamed the Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre and Geographic Centre (Northern Ireland) (RIGC(NI)). In March 2007, 655 Squadron was disbanded as

Operation Banner Operation Banner was the operational name for the British Armed Forces' operation in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 2007, as part of the Troubles. It was the longest continuous deployment in British military history. The British Army was initial ...

was drawing to a close and due to a need to reduce the Lynx fleet set to be retired in 2012. The Lynx aircraft of 655 remained at RAF Aldergrove and was operated by 665 Squadron through to the end of Operation Banner on 31 July 2007. On 1 August 2007,

Operation Helvetic Operation Helvetic is the operational name for the British Armed Forces' residual operation in Northern Ireland from July 2007 to the present day. Background It was the successor operation to Operation Banner after the end of The Troubles. It ...

commenced with 665 Squadron operating the Gazelle and 1 Flight operating the Islander. In July 2008, No. 651 Squadron of 1 Regiment AAC moved to RAF Aldergrove and became part of 5 Regiment. 651 Squadron had been re-raised in 2006 at

RAF Odiham RAF Odiham is a Royal Air Force station situated a little to the south of the village of Odiham in Hampshire, England. It is the home of the Royal Air Force's heavy lift helicopter, the Chinook, and of the King’s Helicopter Flight (TKHF) . I ...

to operate the

Britten-Norman Defender The Britten-Norman Defender is a multi-role utility transport aircraft, manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. It is the military version of the Britten-Norman Islander, developed for roles such as utility transport, casualty ev ...

fixed wing aircraft which had entered service in March 2004. 1 Flight was integrated into 651 Squadron following the squadron's move to Aldergrove. In 2009, RAF Aldergove was renamed Joint Helicopter Command Flying Station Aldergrove. In 2010, the tri-service RIGC(NI) became part of 5 Regiment. In 2018, the RIGC(NI) was renamed No. 3 Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Squadron and transferred to the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

as part of No. 1 Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Wing. On 1 April 2019, 651 Squadron and its aircraft, the

and

, were transferred to the Royal Air Force as part of ISTAR Force in No. 1 Group based at

RAF Waddington Royal Air Force Waddington otherwise known as RAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located beside the village of Waddington, south of Lincoln, Lincolnshire in England. The station is the RAF's Intelligence Surveillance Target A ...

. 651 Squadron continued to operate the aircraft until they were retired from service on 30 June 2021. On 1 August 2021, 651 Squadron transferred back to the Army as part of 1 Regiment AAC.

Structure

The regiment consists of: * No. 665 Squadron AAC The regiment has administrative responsibility for No. 29 (BATUS) Flight AAC based at

Canadian Forces Base Suffield Canadian Forces Base Suffield (also CFB Suffield) is a Canadian Forces base, host to the largest military training area in Canada. It is located in southeastern Alberta, north-northwest of Suffield, northwest of the city of Medicine Hat and so ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

which operates Gazelle helicopters.

References

{{Army Air Corps Army Air Corps regiments Military units and formations established in 1993

History

Structure

See also

References