The Tiger showed what it is made of this summer during two simultaneous firing trials in Spain and Djibouti. The combat helicopter’s entry into operational service is imminent.

As part of development for the support suppression helicopter (HAD) version of the Tiger, an initial firing trial with the Spike wire-guided anti-tank missile was conducted in April and May of this year. The seven-week trial was held at the El Arenosillo firing range of the Spanish National Institute of Aerospace Techniques (INTA).
Spain is one of two current customers for the HAD version of the Tiger, along with France. The Spanish have ordered 24 helicopters in this version, while France has opted for 40. At the El Arenosillo range, five of the seven firing sessions during the day were conducted with missiles lacking their main booster, as the purpose of these trials was to validate the separation envelope for the missile with respect to the firing helicopter, both in hover and forward flight. In the two other sessions, the missiles were equipped with their boosters and traveled the full distance to impact with the target located six to eight kilometers away. The first of these missiles was fired in Lock on Before Launch (LOBL) mode and the second in Lock on After Launch (LOAL) mode. Six missiles were fired by an all-Eurocopter flight crew, and the seventh (in LOBL mode) by a Eurocopter pilot in the forward cockpit and a Spanish officer acting as gunner in the rear cockpit. Each missile successfully hit its target.

In Djibouti
Also in April of this year, the French Army Air Corps (ALAT) conducted a hot weather test campaign in Djibouti that was initiated and overseen by the Airmobile Group of the French Army Engineering Branch (GAMSTAT). The goal of the campaign was to complete the testing already performed in July 2007 in Southern France. “We had two objectives when we set off to Africa for the tests,” explained Lieutenant Colonel Philippe de Bellaing, the Tiger product team leader at the GAMSTAT. “First, we wanted to evaluate the implementation and behavior of the Tiger weapon system both on the ground and in flight in ’overseas’ weather conditions: High temperatures combined with a sandy, dust-filled environment. Our second objective was to evaluate the operational constraints when deploying the Tiger over long distances with tactical transport airplanes.”
The Tiger flown by the GAMSTAT left for Djibouti in the hold of a C-130H-30 Hercules, and made the return trip in a C-160 Transall. The round trip totaled nearly 11,000 kilometers and clocked up almost 24 flight hours. For both flights the rotor blades, rotor head, turret, stub wings, rear horizontal stabilizer and the roof-mounted sight had to be removed, and the landing gear had to be retracted to the “kneeling” position before the helicopter could be squeezed into the transport planes. The technical personnel and two flight crews voyaged in a second airplane along with the spare parts (an engine, main rotor blade, electronic units, etc.) and the necessary tooling. After landing in Djibouti, it took First Lieutenant Peyron’s team of technicians a little over a day to reassemble the helicopter, and then it was ready to take to the air. “The first days in Djibouti were devoted to technical experimentation: Landing in sand and dust, failure training, and evaluating self-protection equipment, the mission system, the radios and the NBC equipment,” explained Major Maulet, the GAMSTAT test pilot. “The testing was performed at the hottest times of day, and the helicopter demonstrated good flight handling qualities. The electronic equipment in particular performed extremely well, even in temperatures of up to 41°C in flight and 50°C when parked in the sun.”

In the Field
The Tiger was then deployed in the Arta region for two days of operations in the field. It was in this area that two final evaluation flights representative of an operational mission were performed, as well as four different firing trials (both day and night). The two flight crews fired a total of three hundred 30 mm shells and 276 rockets. “We chalked up a total of 26 flight hours during our deployment in Djibouti, including eight at night,” noted Lt. Col. de Bellaing, “and all without major incidents. We still have a few technical points to iron out, but overall the French Army Air Corps is very satisfied with the helicopter’s first performance outside of Metropolitan France.” The tests, which were part of the general operational engineering experimentation (EXTO) phase, marked one of the final hurdles to be crossed before the Tiger can officially enter service in the French armed forces. This historic moment is scheduled for the end of 2008.