One of the Australian Army’s Black Hawk helicopter squadrons will relocate to Holsworthy Barracks near Sydney from the end of next year to boost the ability of Australia’s Special Forces to respond to a terrorist threat on the east coast of Australia.
Defence Minister Robert Hill said basing the Army’s 171 Aviation Squadron at Holsworthy will provide a major new training and operational capability for the Special Forces on the East Coast.
171 Aviation Squadron will be relocated from Townsville in Queensland, and be replaced by the new MRH 90 Troop Lift Helicopter Squadron. The new MRH 90 helicopters will be built at Australian Aerospace in Brisbane and delivered to Townsville from the end of 2007.
"Since the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, the Howard Government has committed more than $1.3 billion to the ADF to fight the war against terrorism," Senator Hill said.
"Special Forces are a key part of Australia’s anti-terrorism capabilities. They are considered amongst the most capable Special Forces in the world and this initiative will further strengthen Australia’s domestic and offshore security capabilities.
"The Black Hawk Squadron will work with the soldiers of Special Operations Command including the Tactical Assault Group at Holsworthy and will provide enhanced mobility and training for this critical capability.
"The Tactical Assault Group’s primary role is to respond to terrorist threats against Australia.
"The basing of the helicopter squadron at Holsworthy will improve the training of our Special Forces in counter terrorism and will be used to train Special Forces, commandos and the Incident Response Regiment."
The relocation will involve the construction of new facilities to cater for the relocation of approximately 200 personnel, including new hangars and working accommodation.
The construction project will add to the program of works at Holsworthy to provide vital accommodation and modern infrastructure to allow the majority of the Sydney based Special Forces elements to be centralised at the one location.
The redevelopment project will deliver a dedicated precinct to accommodate two key units of Special Operations Command, the 4th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (Commando) – including the Tactical Assault Group (East) - and the Incident Response Regiment. About 3000 personnel are currently based at Holsworthy.
Media Note: File vision of Special Forces and Black Hawks will be fed to networks via Parliament House bureaux.
