Australia strengthens AUKUS with new base facilities for U.S. Apache helicopters
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According to a joint media release from the Australian Department of Defence dated 16 September 2025, RAAF Base Townsville has moved into full swing on a 700 million dollar program of hangars, training spaces and command facilities to receive the Army’s AH-64E Apache fleet. The announcement also confirms the relocation of the 16th Aviation Brigade headquarters from Brisbane and the staged move of the 1st Aviation Regiment from Darwin to Townsville, where the new attack helicopters will operate alongside an expanded CH-47F Chinook presence. The Apache Australian configuration marries the M230 30 mm chain gun with AGM 114R Hellfire missiles and guided 70 mm rockets via APKWS kits, all cued by the Longbow fire control radar and the M-TADS pilotage and targeting suite.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
The AH-64E Apache Guardian combines a 30 mm chain gun, Hellfire missiles, guided rockets and Longbow radar, giving the Australian Army advanced precision strike and armed reconnaissance capabilities (Picture source: Australian MoD).
New-build hangars and renovations are being paired with a simulation hall sized for Apache pilot training and the Army Aviation Training Centre’s Attack Helicopter Wing. The facilities plan is designed around a bigger aviation footprint in the north and a higher operational tempo, with parking, workshops and working accommodation scaled to support deployed detachments as well as day-to-day force generation. Defence has appointed CPB Contractors as the managing contractor, and the construction phase is expected to run through to 2028. The site plan anticipates the co-location benefits that come with Chinook lift on the same flight line, giving Army planners realistic options for escort, armed overwatch and integrated training without constant cross-country moves.
Behind the airfield works sits the actual program that buys and sustains the aircraft. Under LAND 4503 Phase 1, Australia is acquiring 29 AH-64E Apaches via Foreign Military Sales to replace the ARH Tiger. The government followed that decision with an initial seven-year support contract signed in February 2024 with Boeing Defence Australia. Worth roughly 306 million dollars, it covers maintenance, engineering, logistics support and aircrew and technician training for the Apache fleet and the local workforce that will keep it flying. On the US side, the original FMS notification outlined the package in some detail, including T700 GE 701D engines, M-TADS and PNVS sensors, Longbow fire control radars for a portion of the fleet, modern radar warning and missile warning systems, Link 16 terminals, MUMT X for manned unmanned teaming, M299 missile launchers and a weapons set with AGM 114R Hellfires and around two thousand APKWS guidance sections. Numbers may settle in final agreements, but the shape of the capability is clear enough.
The platform specifics are worth a closer look because they explain why the Army has reanchored in Townsville. The AH-64E is the networked Guardian variant with better power margins from the 701D engines, composite blades and an uprated transmission. The avionics backbone is built for digital interoperability. The Longbow radar sits above the rotor and provides wide area target detection and cueing in clutter and smoke. M-TADS gives long-range electro-optical and infrared identification for laser designation, and the MRFI and CMWS suites improve survivability in the face of modern emitters and shoulder-fired threats. Australia’s package brings the Army firmly into the world the US Army has been living in for years, including the ability to work closely with uncrewed systems. Crews can receive full motion video and metadata from UAS, retask sensors and hand off targets, which shortens kill chains and reduces risk.
Basing the attack helicopter regiment in Townsville lines up with the 2024 National Defence Strategy’s focus on northern posture. From that location, Apache detachments can cover the north and northwest approaches, support Army’s littoral and amphibious forces, and train routinely with partner forces moving through Australia’s joint ranges. The missions are armed reconnaissance in front of combined arms teams, precise strikes against armor, artillery and air defence radars, escort for lift helicopters during air assaults and tactical movement, area security and route clearance by day or night. With Hellfire and guided 70 mm rockets, crews can scale effects and ammunition expenditure to the target and the rules of engagement. Pairing with Chinook lift units on the same base also enables realistic escort training for long-range movements that would otherwise demand complex staging.
Defence has stated that the first airframes arrive from late 2025 with all 29 delivered by 2029, which is a realistic cadence for introducing a completely new combat aviation system while growing the workforce. The Townsville simulation hall and the Army Aviation Training Centre presence are part of de-risking that schedule, letting instructors, technicians and aircrew ramp up ahead of the final facilities handover. Consolidation gives Army the chance to standardise procedures, build experience fast and then deploy formed teams forward when required.
The broader context is the Indo-Pacific security environment and Australia’s shift toward deterrence by denial. Northern bases are being hardened and expanded because distance alone is no longer a reliable buffer. An attack helicopter regiment in North Queensland, integrated with uncrewed systems and joint fires, complicates any adversary’s planning in Australia’s near region. It also strengthens day-to-day cooperation with the United States and allied forces that train in and around Queensland, since the Apache is a common platform with mature tactics and logistics. None of this is headline-grabbing on its own. As a package though, the hardstand, the simulators, the sustainment contract and the weapons stockpile all point in the same direction: a force that can train at scale in the north, then move quickly when it has to.
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According to a joint media release from the Australian Department of Defence dated 16 September 2025, RAAF Base Townsville has moved into full swing on a 700 million dollar program of hangars, training spaces and command facilities to receive the Army’s AH-64E Apache fleet. The announcement also confirms the relocation of the 16th Aviation Brigade headquarters from Brisbane and the staged move of the 1st Aviation Regiment from Darwin to Townsville, where the new attack helicopters will operate alongside an expanded CH-47F Chinook presence. The Apache Australian configuration marries the M230 30 mm chain gun with AGM 114R Hellfire missiles and guided 70 mm rockets via APKWS kits, all cued by the Longbow fire control radar and the M-TADS pilotage and targeting suite.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
The AH-64E Apache Guardian combines a 30 mm chain gun, Hellfire missiles, guided rockets and Longbow radar, giving the Australian Army advanced precision strike and armed reconnaissance capabilities (Picture source: Australian MoD).
New-build hangars and renovations are being paired with a simulation hall sized for Apache pilot training and the Army Aviation Training Centre’s Attack Helicopter Wing. The facilities plan is designed around a bigger aviation footprint in the north and a higher operational tempo, with parking, workshops and working accommodation scaled to support deployed detachments as well as day-to-day force generation. Defence has appointed CPB Contractors as the managing contractor, and the construction phase is expected to run through to 2028. The site plan anticipates the co-location benefits that come with Chinook lift on the same flight line, giving Army planners realistic options for escort, armed overwatch and integrated training without constant cross-country moves.
Behind the airfield works sits the actual program that buys and sustains the aircraft. Under LAND 4503 Phase 1, Australia is acquiring 29 AH-64E Apaches via Foreign Military Sales to replace the ARH Tiger. The government followed that decision with an initial seven-year support contract signed in February 2024 with Boeing Defence Australia. Worth roughly 306 million dollars, it covers maintenance, engineering, logistics support and aircrew and technician training for the Apache fleet and the local workforce that will keep it flying. On the US side, the original FMS notification outlined the package in some detail, including T700 GE 701D engines, M-TADS and PNVS sensors, Longbow fire control radars for a portion of the fleet, modern radar warning and missile warning systems, Link 16 terminals, MUMT X for manned unmanned teaming, M299 missile launchers and a weapons set with AGM 114R Hellfires and around two thousand APKWS guidance sections. Numbers may settle in final agreements, but the shape of the capability is clear enough.
The platform specifics are worth a closer look because they explain why the Army has reanchored in Townsville. The AH-64E is the networked Guardian variant with better power margins from the 701D engines, composite blades and an uprated transmission. The avionics backbone is built for digital interoperability. The Longbow radar sits above the rotor and provides wide area target detection and cueing in clutter and smoke. M-TADS gives long-range electro-optical and infrared identification for laser designation, and the MRFI and CMWS suites improve survivability in the face of modern emitters and shoulder-fired threats. Australia’s package brings the Army firmly into the world the US Army has been living in for years, including the ability to work closely with uncrewed systems. Crews can receive full motion video and metadata from UAS, retask sensors and hand off targets, which shortens kill chains and reduces risk.
Basing the attack helicopter regiment in Townsville lines up with the 2024 National Defence Strategy’s focus on northern posture. From that location, Apache detachments can cover the north and northwest approaches, support Army’s littoral and amphibious forces, and train routinely with partner forces moving through Australia’s joint ranges. The missions are armed reconnaissance in front of combined arms teams, precise strikes against armor, artillery and air defence radars, escort for lift helicopters during air assaults and tactical movement, area security and route clearance by day or night. With Hellfire and guided 70 mm rockets, crews can scale effects and ammunition expenditure to the target and the rules of engagement. Pairing with Chinook lift units on the same base also enables realistic escort training for long-range movements that would otherwise demand complex staging.
Defence has stated that the first airframes arrive from late 2025 with all 29 delivered by 2029, which is a realistic cadence for introducing a completely new combat aviation system while growing the workforce. The Townsville simulation hall and the Army Aviation Training Centre presence are part of de-risking that schedule, letting instructors, technicians and aircrew ramp up ahead of the final facilities handover. Consolidation gives Army the chance to standardise procedures, build experience fast and then deploy formed teams forward when required.
The broader context is the Indo-Pacific security environment and Australia’s shift toward deterrence by denial. Northern bases are being hardened and expanded because distance alone is no longer a reliable buffer. An attack helicopter regiment in North Queensland, integrated with uncrewed systems and joint fires, complicates any adversary’s planning in Australia’s near region. It also strengthens day-to-day cooperation with the United States and allied forces that train in and around Queensland, since the Apache is a common platform with mature tactics and logistics. None of this is headline-grabbing on its own. As a package though, the hardstand, the simulators, the sustainment contract and the weapons stockpile all point in the same direction: a force that can train at scale in the north, then move quickly when it has to.
