AIR ASSAULT : THE 1ST CAV
Air assault is the movement of ground-based military forces, most commonly infantry, by VTOL aircraft such as the helicopter to seize and hold key terrain which has not been fully secured and to directly engage and destroy enemy forces [1]. In addition to regular infantry training, these units usually receive training in rappelling and air transportation, and their equipment is sometimes designed or field modified to allow better transportation in helicopters.
Due to the transport load restrictions of helicopters, air assault forces are usually light infantry though light tracked armored fighting vehicles like the Russian BMD-1, German Wiesel 1 and Swedish Bv206 designed to fit the heavy lift helicopters which enable assaulting forces to combine air mobility with a degree of ground mechanisation. Invariably the assaulting troops are highly dependent on aerial fire support provided by escorting armed helicopters or fixed wing aircraft.
Air assault should not be confused with an airborne assault when infantry called paratroopers, and their weapons and supplies, are dropped by parachute from transport aircraft, often as part of a strategic offensive operation. Another form of delivering troops to an area of combat operations by air which is not a type of air assault is called air landing, and can involve either glider infantry, before and during the Second World War, or almost any type of Combat Arms or Combat Support Arms troops using an already-secured airhead to form an airbridge for a larger airlift operation. An air-landing airlift is also conducted as part of a strategic offensive operation.
