Silverbell Army
Heliport Fast Facts
Size:
Nearest Town:
160 acres, owned
by the AZARNG
Town of Marana,
3.0 miles to the
southeast
Primary AZARNG
aviation training
facility:
Western ARNG
training site for
UH-60 Black
Hawk and UH-72
Lakota
helicopters
3,6000 square
mile Tactical
Flight Training
Area
Training Areas:
Low-level flight
Night flight
Simulated flight
Academic
Enlisted
Foreign military
Operations
Maintenance
Silverbell Army Heliport
Silverbell Army Heliport (SBAH) is in southern Pinal County, just north of the Pinal‐Pima
County border and immediately adjacent to Pinal Airpark less than three miles west of
Interstate 10, the main north‐south corridor between Phoenix and Tucson.
Encompassing 160 acres, Silverbell Army Heliport is one of the Army’s premier aviation
training locations and serves as the AZARNG’s primary aviation facility. Its mission is to
conduct individual‐ and unit‐level aviation training, operate regional aviation simulation
facilities, and provide aviation support operations for the Army, the State of Arizona, and
international military customers. More than 300 helicopter pilots from the National
Guard, Active Duty Army, and Army Reserves are trained at SBAH annually.
One of the AZARNG’s two AASFs (Army Aviation Support Facility), AASF #2, is located at
SBAH. The other one, AASF #1, is located at Papago Park Military Reservation in Phoenix.
The primary function of the AASF is to maintain flight proficiency for AZARNG pilots
through training. Most AZARNG pilots must fly between 86 to 110 hours annually. The
AASF also provides aviation support, including hoist and fire bucket operations, as
required by the Adjutant General and the Governor to support state emergency
management operations. In support of the AZARNG’s federal mission, AASF units must
provide aviation support to airlift and combat operations whenever called into service by
the President. Other major activities supported by the AASF include refueling,
maintenance, and repair of aircraft and ground vehicles.
Silverbell Army Heliport is home to the Western Army Aviation Training Site (WAATS),
which provides year‐round training to all Army National Guard rotary wing units west of
the Mississippi River. The eastern counterpart to the WAATS is the Eastern Army Aviation
Training Site, located at Fort Indiantown Gap in Pennsylvania.
Helicopter training is conducted in the 3,600‐square mile Tactical Flight Training Area
that allows low level flights, nap of the earth terrain flights, emergency procedure
simulation, air‐to‐air combat training, and tactical and dust environment landing zones in
designated areas. Much of the Tactical Flight Training Area is outside the JLUS Project
Area. To the extent possible, low level overflight above populated areas is avoided to
minimize disturbances to people and animals. The nearby semi‐mountainous terrain
provides ideal tactical flight training as well and allows instructors to maximize their
efforts without loss of time due to traveling far away from their Silverbell Army Heliport.
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Arizona Army National Guard Profile