Army Aviation Day in Ukraine Date in the current year: July 3, 2025

The Army Aviation of Ukraine is the military aviation branch of the Ukrainian Ground Forces that provides air support to ground forces in combat. The Army Aviation provides fire support during offensives or counterattacks; strikes enemy troops; destroys enemy air and airborne assault forces, as well as other units; provides landing and air support for its own airborne and airmobile troops; combats enemy helicopters; and destroys weapons of mass destruction, precision-guided weapons, tanks and other armored vehicles, command posts, communications nodes, and elements of enemy infrastructure.

The Army Aviation of Ukraine was established in 1992 and officially became part of the Ukrainian Ground Forces in July 1994. It was formed using the flight and technical personnel and equipment of the Soviet Air Force that were stationed in Ukraine until the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

During its first two decades, the Ukrainian Army Aviation participated in a humanitarian mission in Georgia and peacekeeping operations in the former Yugoslavia, Iraq, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Liberia.

Since the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014, especially following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Ukrainian Army Aviation has played an active role in combat operations within Ukraine. Despite initial losses, the army aviation was one of the most combat-ready branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) by the time of the full-scale invasion thanks to its accumulated experience.

The Ukrainian Ground Forces’ Army Aviation includes the 8th Army Aviation Command Post, the 11th Separate Army Aviation Brigade “Kherson,” the 12th Separate Army Aviation Brigade “Major General Viktor Pavlenko,” the 16th Separate Army Aviation Brigade “Brody,” the 18th Separate Army Aviation Brigade “Igor Sikorsky,” and the 57th Air Base in Brody, Lviv Oblast.

Units and subunits of the Ukrainian Army Aviation are equipped with Soviet-made multipurpose, attack, transport, and command Mi helicopters, many of which have been modernized by Ukrainian companies, such as Motor Sich and Aviakon.

In January 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a decree establishing Army Aviation Day to honor the courage and heroism of Ukrainian Army Aviation service members in their struggle for Ukraine’s freedom, independence, and territorial integrity.