Upgraded
French Army Tigers to Become Operational By Fall 2008
The French Army is proceeding with operational testing of three
helicopters of the first batch of upgraded Eurocopter EC665
Tiger HAP (known as 'Step 2'). The helicopters were tested recently
by their intended unit, the French Army's 5th Combat Helicopter
Regiment (5th RHC), based in Pau. As the upgraded Tigers as
they become operational by fall 2008, 5th RHC is expected to
field the first 'module' of four Tigers in foreign missions
deployment readiness. According to Colonel Darricau, commander
of 5th RHC, by 2010 the regiment is scheduled to have two Tiger
squadrons, each with 8 aircraft, supported by a squadron of
Gazelles and three Puma squadrons. (More...)
The Step 2 version is the most recent
variant of the EC665. HAP is a model of the Tiger dedicated
to army reconnaissance, air-to-ground combat and close air support
(CAS) for ground troops. The helicopter is powered by two 1300
hp MTR390-2C turbine engines supplied by MTR, a joint venture
between MTU, Rolls-Royce and Turbomeca. The engines proved highly
reliable during the recent tests. “Apart from engine oil
and kerosene, the engines of our Tigers required absolutely
no attention for the entire week!” Such was the satisfied
verdict of Captain Pourret and Lieutenant Molard, who were in
charge of the support cell. The helicopter used their day-night
STRIX targeting system (supplied by Sagem Défense Sécurité)
equipped with a direct optical channel, a TV channel, an 8-12
micrometer infrared channel and a laser range-finder, The sight
also provides image processing and automatic target tracking.
or laser designator Employing a wide choice of weaponry including
a gun, rockets, Mistral air-to-air missile and laser guided
weapons (such as the Hellfire II).
The tactical deployment exercise (EXTA), included live firing
sessions by day and night. It involved the first 3 aircraft
of this type, delivered to the 5th RHC last summer. These tests
were carried out in parallel with the technical and operational
evaluation (TOEV) undergoing since the summer of 2007.
You are invited to comments and discuss this article on