The 1st Combat Helicopter Regiment was created on 1 August 1977, but traces its origins back to the 1950s.

It carries the traditions of the 1st then the 21st Artillery Observation Groups which achieved particular fame during the First Indochina War, winning six citations.

[Note 1] That heritage is recalled by the inscription "Indochina 1946–1954" carried on the standard which was solemnly presented to the regiment on 27 June 1980.

Cited in an army order, the régiment received the Croix de guerre des Théâtres d'opérations extérieures with palm on 11 July 1991.

It has also seen service in Chad, in Djibouti, in Somalia, in the former Yugoslavia, in Kosovo, in Timor, in Ivory Coast and in Afghanistan.