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The Tiger armed reconnaissance and attack helicopter
received lots of attention at Eurosatory 2006, marking the completion
of one armament programs (Australia) and the beginning of at least two others
(Germany and Spain). The Tiger is currently operational with the German and
French forces. The helicopter was designed from the start to
address the specific requirements of two nations, but since
Australia and Spain decided to procure the helicopter, things are changing
dramatically, primarily with the helicopter's armament suite.
The German Tiger was designed as an integrated weapon system,
optimized as a tank killer and able to rapidly engage multiple
tanks at a range of 6 kilometers from safe, concealed positions. To
provide these capabilities the helicopter was equipped with a
mast-mounted sight and eight
PARS-3 (Trigat LR) missiles, which were originally being considered both by Germany
and France. However, since France withdrew from the TRIGAT program,
the Germans also reconsidered their choice and began to look for
alternatives. The Australians selected the Tiger for their new Armed
Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) and opted to equip it with the
Hellfire missile. The
four years integration program was completed in June 2006 validating
the integration of the M299 "smart launcher" and demonstrating the
missile's performance through six months of flight and firing tests,
employing the weapon in both Lock On Before Launch (LOBL) and Lock On After Launch (LOAL)
using self and remote designation. Lockheed Martin and MBDA are
aggressively marketing the Hellfire as a possible solution for the
French and Spanish Tigers, which might also mount the German PARS 3.
Unlike Australia, which has already made its decision, the other countries
are also consider a third candidate – the Israeli
Spike ER.
 RAFAEL has been promoting the Spike ER missile for helicopters for some
time. The missile is already operational with the Israeli Army and has
been integrated with the Romanian Puma multi-mission helicopter.
Turkey is also believed to be interested in the missile. The first
evidence that the Spike ER option is real was demonstrated at
Eurosatory 2006 show, when Eurocopter presented the Spike ER on the
Tiger. However, shortly after, the EADS' subsidiary hastily replaced
the missile with their parent company's PARS 3 LR launcher pod. The Spike-ER
missile has been cleared for use with the Tiger attack helicopter
following the successful conclusion of firing trials during which all
four missiles launched hit their targets with remarkable precision.
The pilot can launch a missile and immediately drop down out of sight
of the target, but can still view the target through the missile's fiber-optic
guidance link. Spike ER
has a range of 8 kilometers and is available in Anti-Tank (HEAT
Tandem) or Blast Fragmentation warhead versions. |
