2nd Infantry Assault Battalion, 161st Air Assault Brigade (Unit 32145) 83rd Army Group, Central Theater Command

It’s time to check in and see what the 161st Air-Assault Brigade is up to. As of September 21, there’s a much clearer picture of its OrBat.

• Photos of the 2nd Infantry Assault Battalion (Z-20 Transport) below in this post
• Battle Support Helicopter Battalion is where Z-19 is located
• The armed helicopter battalion is where Z-10 is located
• One Infantry Assault Battalion (Z-8L Transport) not covered in this post.
• Both Mil-17s Mil-17B-5 were transferred from this unit.

161st Air Assault Brigade, 83rd GA training with their Z-20

161st Air Assault Brigade, 83rd Group Army Unit Number Identified by CCTV as “32145”

PR Photos of the Day: 161st Air-Assault Brigade

Soldiers assigned to an air assault brigade of the 83rd Army Group under the PLA Central Theater Command engage simulated enemies under helicopter fire support during an attack, capture and control exercise at a training range in China’s inland Taihang Mountains on Dec. 16, 2017. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Feng Yu)

Photos of the day: 161st Air Raid Brigade conducted its first confrontation exercise at Zhurihe Training Base

Less than 100 days after its commissioning, the 161st Air-Assault Brigade has just conducted its first engagement exercise with 18 of its organic helicopters and training support from the PLAN Marine Brigade. The PLAN Marine of course has the most operational experience in vertical attacks as a result of the PLAN anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden since 2008.

The 1st LH (Army Aviation) Brigade is now the 161st Air-Assault Brigade (空中突击第161旅), 83rd Group Army, Central Theater Command

The 2017 PLA Orbat major reform continues — the former 1st LH Brigade now has an organic light assault infantry division and has been renamed the 161st Air-Assault Brigade accordingly. It is no longer just a battlefield transport arm of the 83rd Group Army.

To be clear, the PLA has been experimenting with helicopter gunship tactics in combined arms operations since the establishment of the LH (Army Aviation) Corps (here), albeit on a small scale. In 2005, the CMC detached elements from the 149th Mech Infantry Division to form the experimental 155th Special Light Mechanized Regiment as a first step in putting the theoretical into practice. In addition to the 155th, a smaller Heli-Assault Battalion Battle Group was also established in the Nanjing MR to further refine small-unit helicopter gunship operations. Fast forward to 2017, and air-assault is now part of the ground forces’ arsenal. More LH units are expected to be converted into air-assault brigades as part of the ORBAT reform.

The PLAAF does the same (see below)