© Thierry Rostang / Airbus Helicopters European Organsiation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) has signed a contract with Airbus...
 |
© Thierry Rostang / Airbus Helicopters
|
Dubbed the Tiger Mk3, the upgrade will maintain the cutting edge of Tiger attack helicopter fleet in the world over the next decades.
OCCAR signed the contract on behalf of France, Germany and Spain, for an Architecture Study with the aim to define the future configurations materialising the Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) of Tiger.
This first stage of the program will explore and select all promising new features and improvements to make Tiger even better, in various areas such as maintainability, survivability or operability, with a strong focus on Life Cycle Cost.
It will benefit both from the lessons learned in several operational theatres and from the latest technologies available or under development. Tiger saw its combat debut in Afghanistan when France deployed three of the type in 2009. German and Spanish Tiger fleet were also deployed to Afghanistan. French Tiger fleet also saw action in Mali and Libya.
The study will allow Nations to choose which combinations of equipments, functions, performances and architectures should be selected for the future development phase of the Tiger to be delivered within the next decade.
Tiger is a new generation multi-role combat helicopter fully developed in Europe and currently in service in France, Germany, Spain and Australia. It is designed to perform armed reconnaissance, air or ground escort, air-to-air combat, ground firing support, destruction and anti-tank warfare, day or night and in adverse conditions.
The Hellfire laser-guided and Spike ER infrared or fiber optics-guided air-to-ground missiles are qualified on the Tiger HAD, with both capable of 8,000 m. ranges in self designation mode.
The Tiger is highly agile, benefitting from a 13-meter, four-bladed hingeless main rotor and is powered by two enhanced MTR390 turboshaft engines.
The Tiger is built in three different European versions at three different Final Assembly Lines in Germany, France and Spain.
OCCAR is a European intergovernmental organisation which facilitates and manages collaborative armament programmes through their lifecycle between the nations of Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain,the United Kingdom.
