Tigers farewelled into the sunset

By Cpl Michael Rogers 3 min read
From the beach, civilians look up at four helicopters flying through a sunset sky.
Army Tigers from 1 Avn Regt conduct a flypast display over Mindil Beach Sunset Market in Darwin. Photo: Cpl Madhur Chitnis
Share:

After two decades of service, Army’s Tiger armed reconnaissance helicopters (ARH) graced the skies over Darwin for the final time.

The flyover at Mindil Beach on September 24 was witnessed by thousands attending the local markets.

Cpl James Hall, an aircraft technician supervisor at 1 Avn Regt who has spent his career maintaining the ARH, watched from the beach.

“Saying farewell to the Tiger was quite sad, honestly. Seeing the final flypast was quite moving,” he said. 

“Seeing the huge amount of people show up, watch the Tigers fly for the last time in Darwin off into the sunset, really puts a nice end to the Tigers' time in Darwin and in the Australian Army. 

“I'll miss working on the Tiger. It's been an excellent aircraft. It's had its ups and downs, but it's going to be a sad sight to see it go.  

“It's going to be really exciting to go work in Townsville on the Apache. It's a new aircraft type, a new place to live, and working on the Apache is going to be a very interesting thing to do.”

A helicopter flies in an orange sky.
A Tiger from 1 Avn Regt conducts a flypast display over Mindil Beach. Photo: Cpl Josh Bray

When introduced into Australian service, the Tiger ARH provided a single platform that integrated intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, electronic warfare and strike effects.

The official retirement of the Tiger on September 30 reflects Australia’s need to operate in an evolving threat environment.

CO 1 Avn Regt and long-time Tiger pilot Lt-Col Jason Perrins said the aircraft had a proud history at the unit, with more than two decades of service.

“It has been a key and longstanding part of the unit. We came together as a unit in Darwin over the 2005-2006 period when we welcomed the ARH Tiger. It has just been part of the furniture here really,” Lt-Col Perrins said. 

“For all of the people that have been through that, it is going to be a sad time, but it's also been an excellent period for us and we're celebrating that and the people that have made it possible.”

The AH-64E Apache replaced the Tiger within the 1 Avn Regt, providing enhanced firepower, networking and interoperability capabilities.

Share:

Related stories