16th Air Assault Brigade
The 16th Air Assault Brigade (16 AAB) is an airmobile brigade of the British Army .
General
The 16 Air Assault is the British Army's primary response unit and is able to conduct a full range of airmobile operations in support of evacuation, combat and peacekeeping operations.
The brigade was formed on September 1, 1999 by merging the 24th Airmobile Brigade and the 5th Airborne Brigade . The brigade replaced the 24th Airmobile Brigade as the British contribution to the NATO Multinational Division Central (MND-C). However, in October 2002 this multinational intervening association was disbanded.
The 16 Air Assault is a unique formation in the British Army and is a British part of the Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC). Operationally, the 16 Air Assault is subordinate to the Joint Helicopter Command, which was created in 1999 after the Strategic Defense Review. This command coordinates the airmobile operations by helicopter across the armed forces and is subordinate to the British Army Land Command in Wilton .
The brigade masters the following types of operations:
- The brigade is a very light and air-mobile large formation that can take important traffic and terrain points such as seaports or airfields for a further increase in emergency services.
- Airmobile missions are usually carried out in cooperation with ground forces and are intended to occupy or eliminate key positions of the enemy.
- Skydiving missions are carried out suddenly against high-quality targets of the opponent and are mostly of short duration.
organization
The headquarters of the 16th Air Assault is stationed in Colchester , Essex . This headquarters is a combined headquarters of members of the Royal Air Force and the British Army .
The airborne 216 Signal Squadron , from the Royal Signals, maintains the radio network for the entire brigade and can also operate independently to support other brigades.
The Pathfinder Platoon of the Parachute Regiment , stationed at Wattisham Airfield in Suffolk, supports the brigade as a special part unit with covert reconnaissance and marking and securing the landing zone. The special platoon with a strength of 45 soldiers is led by a major and is MFF qualified . The train is complemented by specialists from the Royal Signal Corps and Medical Corps.
The 3rd and 4th Army Air Corps Regiment , based at Wattisham Airfield in Suffolk and the 9th Army Air Corps Regiment in Dishforth, provide close air support, airmobile reconnaissance and tactical airlift of the brigade by helicopter. Each regiment consists of two anti-tank squadrons, a light battlefield helicopter squadron and a maintenance unit. The anti-tank squadrons are equipped with the Lynx Mk7 helicopter, which is equipped with the TOW missile system. Gazelle helicopters cover the reconnaissance role. The Light Battlefield Helicopter Squadrons are equipped with the Lynx Mk9, which is used to move smaller squads. The LBH Squadrons mostly work with the three infantry battalions. The maintenance unit consists of soldiers from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers who are responsible for operating the helicopters. In December 2005 the regiments were equipped with 48 Longbow Apache helicopters. Each squadron is made up of 8 Apaches, which are supported by some Lynx.
Since the 16 Air Assault lacks its own heavy helicopter unit, the Royal Air Force provides support with Chinook and Puma helicopters. These helicopters are commanded by Support Helicopter HQ, which is part of the Brigade HQ. The brigade also uses the Royal Air Force's C-130 and C-17 aircraft for air transport.
The brigade's ground combat units always consist of three infantry battalions . Two of these battalions come from the Parachute Regiment , one from the normal light infantry . Each battalion consists of five companies - three rifle companies, a combat support company, and a staff and supply company. The armament of the Heavy Company consists of mortars, machine guns and anti-tank missiles. The brigade has no armored vehicles and is therefore mainly truck-mobile. The individual weapons largely correspond to those basically used in the British Army.
The 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery , based in Aldershot, supports the brigade with three batteries with a total of 18 105mm light guns. The 21 Air Defense Battery with the Javelin air defense system provides air defense.
The 9 Parachute Squadron provides the pioneer support and has the task of increasing the mobility of the brigade and restricting that of the enemy.
A squadron from the Household Cavalry Regiment stationed in Windsor , together with the Pathfinder Platoon from the Parachute Regiment, ensure the brigade's reconnaissance on the ground. It is equipped with twelve Scimitar reconnaissance vehicles for this purpose. These are also used to provide fire support to the infantry companies.
The 13th Air Assault Support Regiment provides ammunition, fuel, food, water and other supplies. The 16 Close Support Medical Regiment ensures the medical support .
The 156 Provost Company provides the brigade's military police .
structure
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- 16th Air Assault Brigade Headquarters & Telecommunications Squadron (216 Parachute Signal Squadron)
- 1st Battalion Royal Irish Regiment - Airborne Infantry
- 2nd Battalion Parachute Regiment - Paratroopers
- 3rd Battalion Parachute Regiment - Paratroopers
- Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland - Airborne Infantry
- 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery - Airborne artillery with L118 light gun
- 3rd Regiment Army Air Corps - Army aviators with Chinook and AH-64 Apache helicopters
- 4th Regiment Army Air Corps - Army aviators with Chinook and AH-64 Apache helicopters
- 9th Regiment Army Air Corps - Army aviators with Chinook and AH-64 Apache helicopters
- 23rd Engineers Regiment (Air Assault), Royal Engineers - Airborne Pioneers
- 7th Air Assault Battalion, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
- 13th Air Assault Support Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps - Airborne Support Battalion
- 16th Close Support Medical Regiment, Royal Army Medical Corps - Medical Battalion
- 156. Provost Company, Royal Military Police
- Pathfinder Platoon - Fernspähzug
Assigned to the brigade but not subordinate to:
- Tank reconnaissance company of the Household Cavalry Regiment in Windsor
- No 1 (Para) Troop, 33rd Engineer Regiment - Disposal of explosives
- Light Electronic Warfare Team, 14th Telecommunications Regiment ( EloKa )
- 4th Battalion Parachute Regiment - reserve unit
- 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Regiment - Reserve Unit
Previous missions
Furnishing
The air mobility of the brigade is u. a. very much supported by the fact that you can do without heavy armored vehicles and instead rely on light trucks.
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artillery
- 105mm L-118 / -199 (light field howitzer )
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Air defense
- Javelin
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Transport aircraft
- C-130 Hercules ( Royal Air Force )
- C-17 Globemaster (of the Royal Air Force)
