PAH-2 Tiger Program
Although the Soviet threat certainly justified the program, there were still numerous obstacles to overcome - so many, in fact, that delays became rife, threatening the very existence of the future helicopter. It took strong political volition to re-launch the cooperative helicopter venture in the early 1980s. From then on, the future combat helicopter would not only destroy Russian tanks, but also unite the European defense industry. At that time it was not known as the "Tiger", a name it was only given in 1989, but as the HAP/HAC (Hélicoptère Appui Protection, Hélicoptère Anti Char) in France, and as the PAH-2, the second-generation "Panzerabwehr hubschrauber" (anti-tank helicopter), in Germany.
In order to reconcile the different requirements of the French and German armies, the industrial consortium was required to produce a common airframe with three separate weapons and equipment fits. After a great deal of back and forth between government offices and design departments, France and Germany managed to overcome their disagreements and the Tiger took on its final shape: as a twin-engine tandem two-seater with a conventional tail rotor. Having been thus defined, the helicopter was to form the basis for the development of several specialized versions: anti-tank and combat support (HAC/UHT), combat and fire support (HAP), armed reconnaissance (ARH), and finally, the HAD multi-role combat version.
The program was officially launched on 20 March 1987 when France and Germany signed a declaration of intention. Two years and eight months later, the development contract itself was signed, with Aerospatiale and MBB taking equal shares of the workload. In 1987 rising costs induced a simplified program with the same helicopter to be procured by both countries. An initial batch of 160 helicopters, 80 for Germany and 80 for France, was procured. The German Army's total requirement of 212 and the French Army's requirement of a total of 215 Tiger helicopters remained unchanged.
The cooperation was not restricted to industrial aspects alone: In 1991, the year that saw the maiden flight of Tiger prototype PT1, plans to establish a Franco-German pilot training school at Le Luc in Provence were officially approved. It was also decided to train the technical staff of the two armed forces in Fassberg, Germany.
At the same time, though certainly not by chance, Eurocopter was created on 2 January 1992 when the MBB helicopter division merged with that of Aerospatiale. the Franco-German-Spanish Eurocopter Group is a Division of EADS, a world leader in aerospace, defense and related services. The Eurocopter Group employs approx. 14,000 people. In 2006, Eurocopter confirmed its position as the world's No. 1 helicopter manufacturer with a turnover of 3.8 billion euros, orders for 615 new helicopters, and a 52% percent market share in the civil and parapublic sectors. Overall, the Group's products account for 30% percent of the total world helicopter fleet.
Once the production contract had been signed on 18 June 1999 and the two partner countries had ordered a total of 160 rotorcraft, the Tiger set its sights on export markets. It chalked up its first success on 21 August 2001, when Australia ordered 22 helicopters of the ARH version. By 2002, five Tiger prototypes and the pre-production aircraft PS01 have logged more than 3,050 flight hours since the first flight in April 1991, and taken part in intensive systems and weapons testing campaigns. Tiger prototypes PT3 and PT5 were used to qualify the UHT that would equip the German Army Air Corps.
Production and final assembly of the machines was at the Eurocopter plants in Donauwörth (Germany) and Marignane (France). Cost and work shares are divided between the two partner countries on a 50:50 per cent basis. Deliveries commenced in 2002. The roll-out of the first production Tiger in UHT configuration (Unterstützungshubschrauber Tiger, i.e. Combat Support Helicopter Tiger for the German Army) took place at Eurocopter's German facility in Donauwörth on March 22, 2002.
In September 2003 the Spanish government decided to join the Tiger program and to order 24 Tiger combat helicopters. The Spanish Council of Ministers announced that it had given authorization for the Spanish Defence Ministry to finalize the agreement. Commenting on the news, the EADS CEOs Philippe Camus and Rainer Hertrich, said "We are pleased by the Spanish government's decision and regard this as further proof of the trust of the Spanish authorities in EADS as the core partner to develop its aerospace and defence industry."
A formal contract concerning an HAD version of world-leading helicopter manufacturer Eurocopter's TIGER was signed on 30 November 2005 in Bonn between Eurocopter TIGER and OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en Matière d'Armement), a European organization for armament cooperation. This agreement superseded the ITP (instruction to proceed) signed on December 8th 2004 by both parties, which had officially launched the HAD (Hélicoptère Appui Destruction) version of the TIGER, a multi-role combat helicopter. As Fabrice Brégier, President of Eurocopter group points out, "this declaration underlines the excellent cooperation of Spain, France and Germany, both on an industrial and political level". The contract was aligned with Spanish DGAM (Dirección General de Armamento y Material), French DGA (Direction Générale de l'Armement) and German BWB (Bundesamt für Wehrtechnik und Beschaffung). It comprises the development and production investments in an HAD version of Eurocopter TIGER, for both Spain and France, as well as the production of 18 HAD helicopters and the retrofit of 6 HAP aircraft for Spain.
By 2010, 64 Tiger HADs had been ordered: 40 by France and 24 by Spain (of which six were retrofits of previously-delivered HAP versions). Both France and Germany each ordered 80 aircraft. As of 2010 less than 30 of these were delivered.
On December 22, 2015 the French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA) ordered seven additional Tiger HAD attack helicopters, bringing to 67 the total number of Tigers that would eventually be operated by the French Army Aviation. The additional Tigers would be delivered in 2017-2018.
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