Joint Helicopter Command
The Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) was formed in 1999 as a tri-Service ‘joint’ organisation to bring together under one command the battlefield helicopters of the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.
The JHC operates over 300 aircraft including the Sea King and Lynx helicopters of the Royal Navy’s Commando Helicopter Force, the Chinook, Puma and Merlin helicopters of the Royal Air Force and the Apache, Lynx, Gazelle and Bell 212 helicopters and the Defender fixed wing aircraft of the Army Air Corps.The Commando Helicopter Force based at the Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton is equipped with Lynx and Sea King helicopters and is in the process of equipping with Merlin and Wildcat. The Commando Helicopter Force is primarily a maritime force that is trained, equipped and organised for expeditionary joint operations.The principle Army formation under command is 16 Air Assault Brigade. Formed in 1999 and based in Colchester, the brigade has served in Macedonia, Iraq and Afghanistan, and is the Army’s primary rapid reaction formation.
As the Airborne Task Force it is equipped and manned so that it can be used throughout the spectrum of conflict from humanitarian tasks, such as disaster relief at one extreme, through to high intensity war fighting at the other. With the British Army preparing for contingent operations, JHC is clearly going to be at the forefront of any such planning, due to its diverse and flexible capability.
The JHC includes all front-line elements of the Army Air Corps 1 and 5 Regiments AAC are based in Germany and Northern Ireland respectively, with 1 Regiment AAC due to return to Yeovilton in 2015/16 and merge with 9 Regiment AAC. 3 and 4 Regiment AAC in Wattisham, and 9 Regiment AAC currently in Dishforth are part of 16 Air Assault Brigade; 6 Regiment AAC is a Reserve regiment based at Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. In addition to the regiments, the Army Air Corps has a number of independent flights under the command of JHC; these are based in Canada, Brunei and Kenya.The Royal Air Force Support Helicopter Force operates under the command of JHC and includes Chinook, Puma and Merlin Squadrons based at the RAF stations at Benson (Oxfordshire) and Odiham (Hampshire). Tactical communications support for the Support Helicopter Force is provided by 244 (Air Support) Signal Squadron based at Colerne, near Bath. The provision of aviation fuel to deployed battlefield helicopters is the responsibility of the RAF Tactical Supply Wing based at RAF Stafford.Overall the JHC employs over 15,000 personnel, some 8,000 of whom are in 16 Air Assault Brigade. This figure includes over 900 Reservist from the Army Reserve and Royal Auxiliary Air Force and over 400 civil servants.
The Headquarters of the Joint Helicopter Command is co-located with the Army Headquarters at Marlborough Lines in Andover.
