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Two Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters (ARH) Delivered to the Australian Army & Achievement of AIR 87 in Service Date Demonstration

Today Australian Aerospace, the Eurocopter subsidiary, delivered the first two Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters to the Australian Army at a ceremony at the Army Aviation Centre in Oakey, Queensland that also marked the achievement of Air 87 In Service Date Demonstration (ISD).

Oakey QLD, 15 December 2004

Named ARH1 and ARH2, the two Tigers were manufactured in France and delivered to Australian Aerospace (AA) in Brisbane on the 23rd November 2004. Australian Aerospace finalized the re-assembly and flight testing of the two platforms before the hand over to Army for formal acceptance.

Requirements for ISD were delivery of 2 ARH, achievement of a military flight permit, training of sufficient Army crews, and provision of an approved Support organization with adequate maintenance documentation, spares and tooling.

Dr Lutz Bertling, Executive Vice President Governmental Helicopters of Eurocopter said “ ISD is a major achievement and reflected 3 years hard work by many people in our Company, our Parent Eurocopter and of course our customer DMO and the Australian Army.” Dr Bertling went on to say on schedule achievement of ISD was remarkable considering that the target date was only 4 years after release of the AIR 87 Tender
and less than 3 years following the Contract Effective date.” The ISD achievement will lead to Australian Military Type Certification in 2005 Australian Aerospace was selected in 2001 to deliver 22 Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters and associated Services to the Australian Army. The first 4 aircraft are manufactured in France and the remaining 18 will be assembled at the Australian Aerospace assembly facility in Brisbane. The remaining two aircraft assembled in France will be delivered early next year. The first Australian assembled aircraft, ARH 5, is ready for flight and will be delivered ahead of schedule in the first half of next year.

Mr Joseph Saporito, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Aerospace said that the AIR 87 program had enabled Australian Aerospace to establish world class assembly and support capabilities in Australia and that this capability will be enhanced by the AIR 9000 program for the long term benefit for Australia.

Eurocopter is a wholly-owned subsidiary of EADS. EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defense 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
Eurocopter
Aéroport International Marseille Provence
13725 Marignane Cedex – France
Tel.: + 33 (0) 4 42 85 95 55
Fax: + 33 (0) 4 42 85 95 64

Christina GOTZHEIN
Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH
D-81663 Munich - Germany
Tel.: + 49 (0) 89 60 00 64 88
Fax: + 49 (0) 89 60 00 44 37

Rosa-María MONTERO
Eurocopter España, S.A.
Carretera Barrio de la Fortuna, 10
28044 Cuatro Vientos, Madrid-Spain
Tel.: + 34 91 379 72 63
Fax: + 34 91 508 39 58