Airbus Helicopters, the rotary-wing business of Europe-based global major aerospace and defence group Airbus, announced on Wednesday that France and Spain had awarded it a major upgrade contract for their Tiger attack helicopters. The contract covers the upgrade of at least 60 of the machines. No value was given. Strictly speaking, the contract was awarded by the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR), on behalf of France’s Armament General Directorate and Spain’s Armament and Material General Directorate. (OCCAR is a European intergovernmental agency, quite separate from, and independent of, both the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.)

Originally a joint French-German project (Spain joined later), the Airbus Helicopters (then Eurocopter) Tiger made its first flight in 1991 but only entered service in 2003. It has seen combat service in Afghanistan, Libya and the Sahel region of West Africa. The type is also operated by Australia. The company described the Tiger as very agile, highly survivable and difficult to detect.

“The Tiger Mk III programme will provide a European answer to the need for a state-of-the-art attack helicopter for decades to come,” highlighted Airbus Helicopters CEO Bruno Even. “With this upgrade, the Tiger will remain an essential and modern asset to its armies and reinforce defence cooperation in Europe. The Tiger Mk III will have no equivalent in the world for high-intensity operations and will further improve the connectivity, precision, and fire power capabilities of the current Tiger.”

Airbus described the upgrade to Mk III status as “comprehensive”. The upgrade will allow the helicopter to connect with digital battle systems, allowing it to share real-time tactical information and to carry out crewed-uncrewed teaming operations. It will also provide upgraded sensor and targeting systems and allow the machine to carry an “unrivalled” range of weapons, including a turret gun, missiles and laser-guided rockets. Flight controls will also be upgraded, reducing the crew workload and allowing them to focus completely on the mission at hand.

The contract initially covers the upgrade of 18 Spanish Tigers and 42 French ones, with options to upgrade another 25 French machines. The contract is also structured so that Germany could join the programme, later. The prototype Tiger Mk III should make its first flight in 2025, followed by the first delivery to France in late 2029 and to Spain in 2030. (Last year Australia decided not to upgrade its Tigers but to replace them with Boeing Helicopters AH-64E Apache Guardians.)