Airbus Helicopters Tiger (EC665)

History

The Eurocopter Tiger (EC 665) is a relatively new attack helicopter originally designed and developed by a joint venture between the French and German governments. By comparison, the Eurocopter Tiger, an attack helicopter, is conceivably comparable to the American Hughes AH-64 Apache, the Russian Ka-50 Black Shark, the Italian Agusta A129 Mangusta and the South African Denel AH-2 Rooivalk.

As of this writing, Tiger's production is limited, although initial orders are relatively impressive given the current global financial environment.

The idea of ??jointly designing a capable attack helicopter between France and Germany has been on the table since the mid-1980s. At that time, Air France Aerospatiale and the German office MBB (Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm) were selected for the job.

Although the program suffered financial setbacks and inevitably collapsed in just two years, the project was restarted in 1987. In late 1989, five prototypes were contracted, and the first Tiger took off in April 1991. By 1992, the Aerospatiale and MBB joint venture had expanded into the newly formed "Eurocopter Group".

Production of the Eurocopter Tiger began in 2002 and deliveries began the following year.

The Tiger series of weapons are mounted on external short wings and are capable of receiving conventional attack helicopter weapons, including air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface anti-tank missiles and air-to-surface missiles. Wing stubs extend outward from the sides of the fuselage, just aft and below the pilot's cockpit location, and feature a pronounced polyhedral curvature.

The standard chin-mounted weapon system is based on operator choice and at the time of writing may include the French GIAT 30 series 30mm gun or the German Rheinmetall 30mm gun.

Impressive performance figures, including a top speed of 315 km/h and a range of 800 km (increased to 1,300 km by using an external fuel tank). Power comes from two Rolls-Royce/Turbomeca/MTU MTR390 series turboshafts driving a four-blade fiberglass main rotor and a three-blade tail rotor. A mast-mounted sight could be mounted on top of the main rotor at the expense of top speed (down to about 290 km/h).

The tail rotor is located on the starboard side of the tail. Eurocopter is fully capable of executing the loop, a popular airshow "test" of the capabilities of contemporary helicopters.

To date, tiger has appeared in four major versions, used consistently in its home country. The Tiger HAP is a French close support attack variant capable of air-to-air and air-to-surface engagements through the use of 30mm gold turrets, missiles and missile pods. The UH-Tiger was a multipurpose derivative used by the German Army. Anti-tank missiles and rocket pods are common equipment on this model, as is the German-made 30mm automatic cannon mounted on the turret. The Tiger ARH is an armed reconnaissance model used by the Australian Army to replace its UH-1 Huey and OH-58 Kiowa systems.

These Tiger fighters will be equipped with upgraded MTR390 series engines and will be equipped with 70mm rocket pods and Hellfire II anti-tank missile system capability. The Tiger HAD is the Tiger of choice for the Spanish Army and the French Armed Forces, featuring anti-tank missiles and an upgraded 1,464 hp MTR390 series engine.

Eurocopter Tiger started operations in 2003. The only active and future users of the helicopter system are currently Spain, France, Germany, Australia and Saudi Arabia.

Australian slot machines are assembled in Australia (Eurocopter has offices in the country), while the Saudis signed a contract in 2006 to buy up to 142 slot machines in multiple versions. Overall, Eurocopter Tiger is expected to have a healthy and long shelf life across Europe and beyond.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes