Aircraft of the ADF- A16 Bell AH-1 HueyCobra

On March 10 1970, the Australian Minister for Defence announced a comprehensive helicopter acquisition programme for the RAAF and the Army. This procurement comprised 84 Light Observation Helicopters (LOH), 42 utility helicopters and 11 helicopter gunships. The ambitious program was, however, destined to change as Australia withdrew its forces from Vietnam. The 84 LOH purchase for the Army was amended to 75 Kiowas, and eventually reduced to 56. The 42 utility helicopter requirement was reduced to 14 UH-1H Iroquois: seven in 1970 for No 5 Squadron at Fairbairn, two replacement aircraft in 1971 for No 9 Squadron in Vietnam, and a final five delivered to Amberley in March 1974 with the RAAF’s 12 Chinook medium lift helicopters.

The eleven helicopter gunships were intended to improve firepower and battlefield surveillance of the Army, and $13. 2 million had been budgeted for the program. The final decision on the type to be chosen was to have been made in April 1970. This choice was between the HueyCobra and the armed Iroquois, which had been used with such great effect by 9 Squadron.

Finally in December 1970, the HueyCobra was selected, at a projected cost of $12. 4m. The A16 serial prefix was allocated to the new helicopter, and these aircraft would most probably have come from the Bell production batch serialled 71-20983 to 71-21052, which were delivered to the US Army during 1973. A new RAAF helicopter squadron was to be formed, No 8 Squadron, but it was undecided whether all HueyCobras would equip No 8 Squadron at Townsville, or be shared with No 9 Squadron, now located at Amberley.

In the event, this decision did not have to be made as the RAAF HueyCobra order was cancelled on October 7 1971. The Army, fully appreciative of air power from its recent experience in Vietnam, objected and tried to reverse the cancellation. The Government would not change the decision, and the Army did not receive this battlefield helicopter support it so desperately desired.

Most probably this decision was remembered fifteen years later when another argument for battlefield helicopters was waged between the RAAF and the Army over the control of the Black Hawk and the Iroquois. The Army won this tussle, and today operates Huey gunships in B Squad- ron of 5 Aviation Regiment at Townsville.

More recently, the HueyCobra has come again into contention for service with the Australian Defence Force. In 1992, the US offered refurbished HueyCobras as replacements for the Army’s Bell 206B Kiowas, which have now been in service for over 20 years. The Army requires a new reconnaissance helicopter for battlefield surveillance, and 40 AH-IP HueyCobras were offered at a price of only $80m.

However, there have been reservations as to the attractiveness of such a deal, as the design is now old, and support costs would be considerable. Furthermore, in spite of its effectiveness as a gunship, it is doubtful whether the Huey Cobra could ably fulfill the reconnaissance capability that the Army requires. (For more information on the Army’s future helicopter requirements, refer p25 March 93 AA).

Despite this second shot at Australian military service, it appears unlikely the HueyCobra will ever be operated here. The reconnaissance helicopter selected to replace the Kiowa will most probably be a new and specialised design, such as the Agusta A 129 Mongoose.