Airbus has signed a deal to continue providing Tiger helicopter fleet support for the German, French, and Spanish Armed Forces.
Valued at 430 million euros ($452.3 million), the five-year agreement encompasses the supply of spare parts, overhaul, and maintenance of associated production and repair lines.
It will also include “significant improvements” in obsolescence management services critical before the international fleets’ mid-life upgrade.
Special work incorporating the deployment of dedicated sustainment and technical support teams will be delivered to French Army sites, securing the availability of helicopter parts for the force through a service-by-the-hour arrangement and with the company managing related stocks.
The Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation (OCCAR) awarded Airbus the first contract under the trilateral framework to assist Germany, France, and Spain’s Tiger helicopters in 2019.
In 2022, Airbus accepted an order to modernize more than 50 of the attack aircraft operated by Paris and Madrid, increasing their “effectiveness beyond 2040.”
Meanwhile, Berlin in July 2024 procured approximately $100 million worth of 70-millimeter practice rockets to arm the country’s Tiger systems for training.
The Airbus Tiger Helicopter
The Tiger combat helicopter measures 14 meters (46 feet) long and has a rotor diameter of 13 meters (43 feet).
It is powered by twin turboshaft engines with about 1,300 horsepower each for a range of 1,300 kilometers (808 miles), an altitude of 4,000 meters (13,123 feet), and a speed of 170 knots (315 kilometers/196 miles per hour).
The system can be fitted with a turreted cannon, heavy machine guns, unguided rockets, and anti-armor and air-to-air missiles.