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France and Spain launch Tigre MkIII program
The OCCAR (Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation), representing the Spanish and French Directorate General for Armaments, the DGA (Direction Générale de l’Armement) and the DGAM (Dirección General de Armamento y Material) has awarded a contract to Airbus Helicopters for the development, production and initial in-service support of the Tiger MkIII attack helicopter upgrade program.
The contract includes the upgrade of 42 aircraft for France (with the possibility of adding another 25 helicopters) and 18 for Spain. In addition, the contract provides the possibility for Germany to join the Tiger MkIII program at a later date. The first prototype is scheduled for a maiden flight in 2025. The first delivery to the French Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) will take place at the end of 2029, followed by a first delivery to Spain in 2030. The development and upgrade work will be carried out at Airbus Helicopters’ facilities in Albacete (Spain), Marignane (France) and Donauworth (Germany).
“The Tiger MkIII program will provide a European answer to the need for a state-of-the-art attack helicopter for the coming decades. With this upgrade, the Tiger will remain an essential and modern asset for their militaries and will strengthen defense cooperation in Europe,” said Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters. He added: “The Tiger MkIII will have no equivalent in the world for high-intensity operations and will further enhance the connectivity, precision and firepower capabilities of the current Tiger.”
Tiger MkIII is a comprehensive upgrade of European attack helicopter systems. Combat proven, the Tiger is difficult to detect, very agile and highly survivable, something operators will continue to benefit from with the MkIII upgrade. The new standard will allow the platform to connect to the digital battlefield for manned and unmanned teams, as well as to share tactical information in real time. It will also provide an unmatched range of weapons (turret gun, rockets and laser-guided missiles) and renewed detection and targeting capabilities. The integration of state-of-the-art avionics will reduce crew workload and allow them to fully concentrate on mission execution.
