Aviation Legere de l'armée de Terre

Aviation Legere de l'armée de Terre
Lineup	November 22, 1954
Country	France
Type	Corps ( French Army )
insignia
Aircraft cockade

The Aviation légère de l'armée de Terre (ALAT) is the air force of the French army . It primarily fulfills its orders using aircraft , especially military helicopters . The ALAT is one of the combat troops, its priority areas of activity are infantry support , anti-tank defense , aerial combat , air transport of personnel and material as well as reconnaissance. Her patron is St. Clotilde .

history

The light aviation of the land forces , the literal translation of the French name, was founded in 1954.

During the Cold War , along with other French troops, it was also stationed in southwest Germany, including at the beginning of a few years in Mainz-Finthen and until after the end of the Cold War in Friedrichshafen . Here was the Groupe d'aviation légère du 2ème corps d'armée , which was renamed the 2ème Régiment d'hélicoptères de combat in 1978 , with Puma , Gazelle and Alouette III .

organization

In addition to the flight school spread over two locations, the regiments form the operational arm of ALAT:

• 1er régiment d'hélicoptères de combat (1er RHC), Phalsbourg , Grand Est ( Lorraine )
• 3e régiment d'hélicoptères de combat (3e RHC), Étain , Grand Est (Lorraine)
• 5th régiment d'hélicoptères de combat (5th RHC), Pau , Nouvelle-Aquitaine
• 4th régiment d'hélicoptères des forces spéciales (4th RHFS), Pau, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
• L'école de l'aviation légère de l'armée de Terre (EALAT), Dax , Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Le Cannet-des-Maures , Provence and the mountain flight school on the border with Spain in Sainte-Léocadie , Occitania

A brigade structure was introduced on July 1, 2016. The three combat helicopter regiments were placed under the new 4ème Brigade d'Aérocombat (BAC) in Clermont-Ferrand . The 4th regiment is subordinate to the special operations command.

There are also a few other units, including the École franco-allemande de formation des équipages Tigre , a Franco-German cooperation for training Eurocopter Tiger crews, which is also based in Le Cannet. There are also:

• The test site Groupement Aéromobilité de la Section Technique de l'Armée de Terre (GAMSTAT), Valence , Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
• The maintenance company 9e bataillon de soutien aéromobile (9e BSAM), Montauban , Occitania

The troop's museum is located at the Dax location.

equipment

As of the end of 2018

Aircraft	origin	photos	use	version	active	Ordered	Remarks
Planes
PC-6	Switzerland		Transport plane		5
TBM700	France		Transport plane		8th
helicopter
Aérospatiale SA341 / 342 Gazelle	France		Anti-tank helicopter training helicopter		169 16		Used as anti-tank helicopter through the Tiger replaced
Eurocopter Tiger	European Union		Attack helicopter	HAP HAD	56	28
Aérospatiale SA330 Puma	France		Medium transport helicopter		77		Is the NH90 replaced
Aérospatiale AS332 Cougar	France		Medium transport helicopter		25th
Airbus Helicopters H225M Caracal	European Union		Multipurpose helicopter		8th		Transport of special forces
NHIndustries NH90	European Union		Multipurpose helicopter	TTH Caïman	30th	44
Aérospatiale AS355 Fennec	France		Training helicopter		17th

Web links

Commons : French Army Aviators  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• ALAT website in French
• Website of the training center for the crews of the Tiger attack helicopters
• History of ALAT in Friedrichshafen in French

Individual evidence

1. ↑ French Army Aviation set to return to brigade structure, Janes, February 18, 2016 ( Memento of February 23, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
2. ↑ World Air Force 2019. Flight International , December 8, 2018, accessed July 17, 2019 .