PAH-2 Tiger Background
The combat helicopter saw the light of day in France, when the first SS-10 missile was fired from prototype 02 of the SE-3120 Alouette in October 1953. After some initial skepticism, the military decided to adopt the concept of the armed helicopter. It was the right decision, as today's success has proved. Now, half a century later, the combat helicopter is a well established concept and no one would dream of denying its usefulness on the battlefield. And with the Tiger, it has attained a superior standard of mobility, survivability and firing power.
The Tiger adventure began in the mid-1970s, when parties on both sides of the Rhine began to think about developing a combat helicopter modeled on that built by the Americans during the Vietnam War. Both countries needed to replace their existing helicopters: the Gazelles in France and the BO-105s in Germany. The project rapidly took on a political dimension, following the same approach as the major Franco-German armament programs set up during the previous decade by President Charles de Gaulle and Chancellor Konrad Adenauer.
Despite the political impetus behind co-operation from the French and German Governments, the Tiger was subject to a troubled and protracted gestation. Discussions on a joint program began in the late 1970s, but differences between French and German requirements delayed formal commitment until 1983. In the early 1970s the Chief of ALAT, the French Army Aviation, and the General in charge of German Army Aviation, met and discovered that their requirements for an anti-tank helicopter with not only night flying but night fighting capabilities were almost concurrent. It was during that time when the German Army, in order to fill the anti-tank helicopter with full night fighting capability would require some more time and therefore started producing the PAH-1 as an anti-tank helicopter based on the Boelkow 105.
In 1978 the French and German Governments signed the MoU offering theconcept phase of an anti-tank helicopter with night fighting capability which brought Aerospatiale and MBB closer together. This collaboration was assisted by these two governments which also sponsored R/D programmes for their national commercial companies that might become applicable in such a helicopter. Examples of such programs are the fibre elastomere rotor, the tailrotor design in composite materials, fly-by-wire and night vision. This concept phase was followed by a definition phase which - endorsed by a bilateral MoU of the governments - covered the period from 1979 to 1981.
The result, in 1981, of these studies was a design which met all military requirements, had a take-off weight of 4.5 to 4.7 tons, a fibre elastomererotor of 12.6 meter diameter and a tandem cockpit. The question of night vision was not solved because the French Government planned to develop a European" (French) system, while the Germans, having access to US common module technology based on a Government MoU, were reluctant to "reinvent the wheel."
The two companies also offered two economy versions. Reduction Version I called for a weight reduction to 4.2 tons by reducing general equipment and armor. Reduction Version II could only meet the minimum requirements of the military in regard to performance, with six anti-tank missiles and had significantly reduced capabilities with eight missiles. The rotor diameter was 12 meeters and the weight 3.8 tons.
All these proposals were not accepted by the governments - particularly the Germans - because the solutions offered were either too far off the basicrequirements or too expensive. Industry was asked to submit new proposals by the middle of 1981 aiming primarily at a price reduction, achieved by using existing components, and also by asking industry to participate in financing the project. Both companies proposed side-by-side seats, a modified DAUPHIN transmission, a Fenestron shrouded tail rotor and a fibre elastomere rotor of 12.3 meter in diameter. Also proposed was the European night vision and sight system PORTHOS/PISA. At the end of 1981 this proposal was rejected by the German Government; the French Government, however, accepted, and followed along those lines on a national program with Aerospatiale.
The German Government on the other hand asked MBB to investigate and evaluate proposals made by other helicopter manufacturers. This request caused MBB Ottobrunn some surprise as German-French collaboration had been assumed to be the official policy, and MBB had its own strong interest in collaboration with France because of the ties developed in the anti-tank missile field with an agreement for the third generation of anti-tank missiles under negotiation. During the following months the following projects were studied: Bell 249, Hughes AH-64 APACHE, Westland LYNX-MI, Sikorsky UH-60A BLACK HAWK, Agusta A-129 MONGOOSE and a national MBB proposal.
In France, owing to financial constraints, the French Army Aviation had altered the requirements. It was decided to introduce first a combat helicopter armed with a gun with night flying but notnight fighting capability. This was then supposed to be supplemented by a night-fighting anti-tank helicopter in the middle of the 1990s.
At that time, the second half of 1982 to early 1983, the requirements of both countries were farther apart than ever before. It was a political decision which finally led to an agreement. Dr. Manfred Worner, the new German Minister of Defence, pressed for a solution. In the first phase the French-German military requirements were laid down, then the Chiefs of the Army were asked which requirements were essential and which were not. This led, finally, to a fair compromise calling for a helicopter with a take-off weight of 4.7 tons able to carry eight anti-tank missiles plus (a specific German requirement) four air-to-air missiles such as STINGER; twin engines - which meant development of a new engine on the basis of the MTU Turbomeca MTM385; a tandem cockpit; and night vision system from European sources should it be competitive with TADS/PNVS in price and performance.
The development of this helicopter was to be completed by 1990 leading to its introduction into the German Forces in 1992/93 with the improved anti-tank missile HOT-B. At the same time France would introduce this helicopter as HAP (Hélicoptère d'Appui et de Protection) with air-to-air missiles and an articulated gun, really an anti-combat helicopter. Only after 1995 would the French Army Aviation receive their Hélicoptère Anti Char (HAC) armed with eight third generation anti-tank missiles (HOT successor) under development in French/British/German collaboration.
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