Unveiling the Phoenix Army Aviation Operations Command and Its World’s Fourth-Largest 500+ Helicopters – Part 2

The Army Aviation Operations Command boasts a history of over 70 years, starting with establishing an aviation unit under the Ministry of National Defense’s predecessor, the Unified Command. The Army Aviation Command was established on September 13, 1948, and on October 1, 1949, part of it was separated to establish the current Air Force.

On October 1, 1950, during the height of the 6·25 War, our army breached the 38th parallel, and the Army Aviation Corps was established as an Aviation Department under the Operations and Education Bureau of the Army Headquarters. This was done under General Order No. 80 of the Army Headquarters. During the war, the Corps operated a field aviation dispatch team and established a flight team in each corps and division, which laid the foundation for the aviation unit.

Afterward, the aviation branch was created in the Army on January 30, 1973, and the 1st Aviation Brigade was established under the Army Headquarters General Order No. 37 that year. Based on this, it was promoted to the Aviation Command, composed of two aviation brigades, on July 1, 1989. Finally, on April 20, 1999, the Aviation Operations Command was established with one airborne assault brigade, two aviation brigades, and four aviation brigades, leading to the present.

The Army Aviation Operations Command was created to effectively prevent North Korea’s surprise attacks in case of war and to operate attack helicopters offensively. Its primary mission was a solo attack against the North Korean Army’s 108th Mechanized Corps, north of the Pyongyang-Wonsan line. The Command would use the excellent mobility of helicopters to support the rear and conduct a second attack, disrupting the North Korean Army’s war sustainability.

As the unit expanded, it integrated the Army aviation helicopter units scattered at the corps level into one command. In addition, the Army Aviation Operations Command reorganized the Army’s 203rd Special Assault Brigade into the 1st Airborne Assault Brigade to carry out airborne assault operations independently.

The introduction of the AH-X, the main weapons system for the large attack helicopter project, was delayed for political reasons. This caused difficulties in improving operational capabilities. However, in April 2013, it was decided to introduce the AH-64E Apache Guardian as part of this project. Later, in January 2017, 36 units of the Apache Guardian were introduced, and two Apache attack helicopter battalions were established under the Army Aviation Operations Command.

Suppose the second significant attack helicopter project proceeds; two more large attack helicopter battalions will be created. With the expansion of the command’s functions, the Aviation Maintenance Brigade and the Medion, a well-known medical evacuation aviation unit, were also formed.

Seven existing aviation brigades have been changed to units that directly report to each corps as part of the plan to deploy aviation brigades to the field corps. Meanwhile, the Black Hawk Unit, also known as the Special Operations Aviation Brigade, which was initially established on December 1, 2017, has been transferred from the Army Aviation Operations Command to the Army Special Operations Command in 2019.

To Read Part 1…
To Read Part 3…