The first three helicopters of Fort Carson’s new combat aviation brigade are scheduled to land at Butts Army Airfield next week.

Flying in from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the helicopters are expected to touch down on Monday or Tuesday — signaling the beginning to the much-heralded arrival of 113 helicopters for the brigade, said Maj. Andrew Ruiz, a unit spokesman.

The first signs of the brigade’s arrival came in June, when the sound of construction equipment offered an overture to the helicopters’ arrival.

Komada LLC crews broke ground on the first project — a $9.9 million headquarters building that will serve as the nerve center for the brigade’s 2,700 soldiers.

In all, the Defense Department awarded nearly $200 million in contracts in 2012 to build a slew of projects, including the headquarters building, a hangar, a control tower and barracks.

The contracts signify about a third of the funding needed for building projects to house the brigade. No contracts are slated to be awarded in fiscal year 2013, which began Oct. 1 and ends Sept. 30.

Once fully operational, the brigade is expected to house three battalions — assault, attack recon and a general support.

Forty-eight of the helicopters will be AH-64 Apaches, while 38 will be UH-60 Black Hawks.

Fifteen more Black Hawk helicopters will be specially fitted to for medical evacuation missions.

The rest of the helicopters will be CH-47 Chinooks — twin-rotor helicopters that specialize in carrying troops or transporting supplies across a battlefield.

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Apache helicopters loaded with Blue Spear rockets fly in support of training exercises with Fort Carson’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team downrange at Fort Carson Thursday, January 21, 2010 during training. (Gazette file) Photo by THE GAZETTE FILE