Military Aviation

Launch of the new HAD version of the Tiger

for Spain and France with the signing of the first contracts

On Wednesday 8 December, the "Instructions to Proceed" - the contracts for the launch of the development work for the HAD Tiger

version intended for Spain and France - were signed in Toulouse.

These contracts were signed on behalf of the countries by the Director of the contracting authority, OCCAR, with the industrial partners Eurocopter Tiger (the Eurocopter subsidiary), MTR/ITP, SAGEM, and INDRA.

At the end of October, OCCAR was mandated by the participating countries to launch the development of this new HAD (Support Suppressor Helicopter) version of the Eurocopter combat helicopter.

This launch signifies a major step forward in the advancement of the Tiger program. The multipurpose HAD version combines the combat/support capabilities of the HAP version with the attack capability of the air-to-ground missiles of the UHT version.

France is acquiring 40 of its 80 Tigers in the HAD version and, in time, Spain will have 24 HAD version helicopters. Furthermore, certain other countries have already expressed their interest in this new version. Spain thus joins the Tiger community, becoming the 'third cornerstone' of the Eurocopter group along with France and Germany. The next step for Spain will be the acceptance of its first Tigers in the French HAP configuration, for the training of its initial crews in 2005, before these helicopters enter operational service in 2006. These HAP versions will subsequently be converted into the HAD standard.

The interoperability of the German, Spanish, and French forces is ensured by the high degree of shared features on the Tiger versions. Furthermore, the optimized training and support offered by these helicopters constitutes a further step towards building European Defense.