Delivery of the last had TIGER helicopter

The last HAD serial TIGER attack helicopter was delivered to the French Army on 5th February 2020 in Marignane. 185 Tigers have been produced for France, Germany, Spain, and Australia.

However, the Tiger programme is still active: 36 Tigers are going through retrofit in France, from the HAP to the HAD configuration, an activity that will continue until 2024. In Germany, 33 Tigers are currently upgraded onto the ASGARD-configuration (Afghanistan Stabilization German Army Rapid Deployment), with the first one coming out of retrofit in the coming months.

Patrice Malejac, OCCAR Programme Manager, during a moment of the ceremony ©Airbus Helicopters

The TIGER programme is managed by OCCAR. Mr Patrice Malejac, the OCCAR TIGER Programme Manager spoke during his speech of the important contribution of the TIGER Programme to the transformation of the way in which nations collaborate with each other, with the creation of OCCAR, as it was one of the first programmes that was entrusted to the organisation. Similarly, the integration of the aeronautical industry with the creation of Eurocopter can also be attributed to the TIGER programme.

The Tiger programme remains one of the majors of OCCAR programmes, noting that the number of OCCAR programmes has increased from the 5 initial to the current 13 among which 4 aeronautical programmes whose industrial prime contractor is Airbus.

The attendees to the delivery c eremony in Marignane © Airbus Helicopters

OCCAR and Airbus are closely associated to offer technical, organizational and contractual solutions in line with the needs of the 4 Nations using the Tiger that are adapted to the contexts of the coming years.

The signing of the global support contract at the end of last year meant a first step in giving Airbus greater responsibility to improve the availability of the Tiger helicopter fleets.

Then, the standard 3 risk reduction phase offers Airbus and OCCAR an opportunity to build a solution with Germany, Spain and France as well as the main suppliers of airborne systems and equipment, building on the experiences acquired in recent years and at the same time integrating new approaches to match the current challenges.

Mr Malejac said "thanks to all those who have contributed with passion to the achievement of this terrific weapons system."

For more information about the programme, please visit our web.