Army Light Aviation Unit (Portugal)

Background . performing a medical evacuation during the war in Portuguese Guinea. The Portuguese Army maintained its own aviation arm from 1914 to 1952. This arm received a high degree of autonomy in 1937, including its own separate chain of command, although continuing to be administratively connected to the Army. In the early 1950s, the decision was taken to completely separate it from the Army, becoming an entirely independent branch of the Armed Forces. The decision was also taken to separate the Portuguese Naval Aviation from the Navy and to put it under the control of the new independent air branch. The new branch created in 1952, became the Portuguese Air Force, unifying all the Portuguese military aviation assets and operations under a single command. During the Portuguese Overseas War (1961–1974), all military air assets were part of the Air Force. These were employed both in independent operations and in cooperation with the land and naval forces, under the coordination of the joint military commands. The Air Force was equipped with assets oriented for the counter-insurgency, including new helicopters that were used to perform joint helicopter operations involving Commandos and Paratroopers (these then being part of the Air Force). Occasionally, the Air Force established detachments of cooperation that operated under the command of Army units. == Aircraft procurement ==

The unit was originally intended to be equipped with nine light utility helicopters and with ten medium transport helicopters. In 1999, the Eurocopter EC635 T1 was acquired for the light utility, anti-tank and reconnaissance role. The EC635 had been specifically developed by Eurocopter precisely to meet the Portuguese Army requirements for its light aviation unit. In June 2012, the Portuguese government officially announced that it would cancel the order of all ten NHI NH90 due to budget cuts, thus compromising the future of the UALE. == Operational history ==

The pilots and ground crews of the UALE underwent training with the Portuguese Air Force, with pilots undergoing flight training in the PoAF's Alouette III helicopters. The Army's pilot have also received training on the Eurocopter EC135 in the Spanish Army Airmobile Force. Between 2007 and 2012, under an agreement with EMA — Empresa de Meios Aéreos, S. A., a company owned by the Portuguese government, Army pilots flew EMA's Kamov Ka-32 helicopters in fire-fighting and other public interest missions for the Portuguese Ministry of Internal Administration. ==See also==