Combat helicopter UH Tiger receives type certification and qualification
Combat helicopter Tiger clears its way towards in-service date. German military certification authority grants type certification for the German UH-Tiger version. Shortly afterwards the European organisation for armaments co-operation OCCAR expressed the respective qualification.
Marignane, 26 August 2004
The German Bundesamt für Wehrtechnik und Beschaffung (BWB) has granted on Tuesday, august 17th 2004, the type certification for the German combat helicopter variant UH-Tiger (Unterstützungshubschrauber Tiger). Only one day later the governmental executive organization of the Tiger programme, OCCAR DT in Bonn, Germany, expressed the qualification for Eurocopter’s ambitious combat helicopter. Type certification and qualification is considered as a very important milestone successfully closing the chapter of the Tiger aircraft and weapon system development.
In addition both are the pre-requisite for delivering the first French and German helicopters to the bin-national Tiger pilot school Le Luc in southern France from October 2004 on. The French HAP Tiger version received the same status 4 ½ months ago. The type certifications for the French and German Tiger helicopters were achieved in close and extremely efficient cooperation between both national certification authorities, BWB and DGA (Délégation Générale pour l’Armement), thus underlining the successfully cross border cooperation in armament development and acquisition between France and Germany.
Furthermore, both the serial HAP and UHT currently proof their high production quality and reliability in respective acceptance flights. In addition, this has already been encountered on other serial Tiger’s which had been provided with so called preliminary airworthiness certifications for troop trials and instructor pilot type ratings.
Both helicopters versions, the UH-Tiger and Tiger HAP will undergo a further certification and qualification step in 2005, when improvements originating from current troop trials and additional equipment as well as functionality ordered by France and Germany beyond the original development contract will be implemented.
To date, 206 Tigers have been ordered by four countries. Germany and France have bought 80 helicopters each, Australia 22 and Spain 24. Spain is entering the programme as the third partner at both governmental and industrial levels.
The Tiger is designed to leading-edge engineering standards as a multi-mission weapons system for the military scenario following the collapse of the Warsaw Pact. Depending on the variant the Tiger’s weapons systems include a nose-mounted gun turret, air-to-air missiles, unguided rockets, gun pods, second-generation anti-tank weapons systems, HOT or Hellfire, as well as TRIGAT fire-and-forget guided missiles of the third generation with infrared homing. The basic airframe of the Tiger is of modular design and can be equipped with different operational systems making it suitable for flexible deployment and numerous functions. The Tiger is designed for day and night missions in all weather conditions.
Based on the HAP variant, an HAD (Hélicoptère d’Attaque et Destruction) version of the Tiger is being developed for Spain and France. As compared to the HAP, it will be additionally equipped with the TRIGAT missile system, raising its take-off weight from presently 6.1 tonnes to 6.6 tonnes. As a result of that, it will be equipped with more powerful engines. The HAD variant will be delivered to Spain as of 2008 and to France as of 2009. Spain's total requirement is for the HAD while France will switch half of its requirement from the HAP to the HAD version.
The Tiger is the only attack helicopter in the world that has been developed and is being built explicitly to meet today’s and tomorrow’s requirements in air mechanisation. The German, French, Spanish and Australian armed forces will make full use of the Tiger’s inherent multi-mission capabilities for such diverse tasks as engaging diverse ground and air targets, escort and combat support missions, anti-tank missions, surveillance and reconnaissance as well as for escorting unarmed transport helicopters on humanitarian missions.
Eurocopter is a wholly-owned subsidiary of EADS. EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2003 EADS, generated revenues of € 30.1 billion and employed a workforce of about 109,000. The EADS Group includes the aircraft manufacturer Airbus, the world’s largest helicopter supplier Eurocopter and the joint venture MBDA, the second-largest missile producer in the global market. EADS is the major partner in the Eurofighter consortium, is the prime contractor for the Ariane launcher, develops the A400M military transport aircraft and is the largest industrial partner for the European satellite navigation system Galileo.
For further information please contact:
Jean Louis ESPES
Tel : + 33 (0)4 42 85 95 55
Fax : + 33 (0)4 42 85 95 64
Eurocopter
Aéroport International Marseille Provence
F-13725 Marignane Cedex
France
Christina GOTZHEIN
Tel : + 49 (0) 89 6000 64 88
Fax : + 49 (0) 89 6000 44 37
Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH
D-81663 München
Germany
Chantal LINARES
Tel : + 33 (0)4 42 85 60 51
Fax : + 33 (0)4 42 85 95 64
Eurocopter
Aéroport International Marseille Provence
F-13725 Marignane Cedex – France
Christoph MÜLLER
Tel : + 49 (0) 906 71 45 65
Fax : + 49 (0) 906 71 46 74
Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH
D-86607 Donauwörth
Germany
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