The Tiger attack helicopter program has been unsettled by Germany refusing to join a MkIII midlife upgrade effort with France and Spain. (French Army on Twitter)
BELFAST — The French government, military and industry plan to reassess the capabilities they want in an upgrade to the Tiger attack helicopter, including a key analysis of drone compatibility, potentially putting in question the planned, full MkIII upgrade.
Asked specifically about whether the MkIII mid-life upgrade would be funded, a French military spokesperson only confirmed that a “new Tiger standard is not put into question in the upcoming Loi de programmation militaire (LPM) [military programming law].”
“During his hearing in the Senate on February 28, Sébastien Lecornu, Minister for the Armed Forces, affirmed that the Tiger helicopter will continue to fly until 2042-2045,” said the French Ministry of Armed Forces spokesperson. “The Minister nevertheless mandated the armed forces and the DGA [Directorate of General Armaments], in conjunction with manufacturers, to evolve standards envisaged to meet needs identified, in terms of technological developments (in particular reflect on compatibility with drones) and economic sustainability, to ensure export success.”
The statement comes after Force Operations Blog (FOB), a specialist French Army website, reported earlier this month that an unnamed military source said the Tiger MkIII mid-life upgrade will be cancelled and replaced with a less comprehensive 2+ plan. Integration of new MBDA MHT (High Tier Missile) air-to-ground and Mistral 3 air-to-air weapons will be abandoned under the reworked initiative with the in production Brimstone air-to-ground missile to be favored instead, according to FOB.
Those changes have not been confirmed by the French Ministry of Armed Forces. It declined to clarify to Breaking Defense whether “new standard” refers to a smaller or less comprehensive upgrade compared to that originally planned under the MkIII effort. MBDA declined to comment.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced in January that the new LPM for 2024-2030, a multi-annual national defense expenditure settlement, would increase spending by 40 percent to €413 billion ($447 billion), but lawmakers are still to ratify acquisition proposals tied to it. The French Defense Committee is expected to review the LPM before the summer, according to a National Assembly spokesperson.
The MkIII rotary project was launched by European defense agency OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en matière d’Armement) on behalf of France and Spain in March 2022 to enhance the firepower, connectivity and target detection capabilities of the aircraft, but the absence of Germany amid interest from Berlin in Boeing’s AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopter has complicated matters considerably.
Lead manufacturer Airbus offered Germany an extended deadline to join the program, but that lapsed in Q4 2022 without any change.
“The LPM is in preparation in France and is requesting to adapt the model and transform the French Armed forces to win the battle of the future,” said an Airbus spokesperson in a statement to Breaking Defense. “We can confirm that the Tiger programme is part of the current discussions between the French State and the industry as the need is clearly to keep the helicopter flying until 2045+. Airbus remains fully committed and engaged on the development of this Tiger upgrade and is ready to work on possible ways of optimizing its costs.”
As Breaking Defense previously reported, France originally committed to upgrading 42 Tiger helicopters from a fleet of 67, at a cost of €2.8 billion ($3.06 billion) and might have explored approving additional funding to upgrade the remaining 25 aircraft had Germany joined the program, lowering costs for other partners in the process.
Spain also plans on upgrading 18 of its 24 Tigers for €1.18 billion ($1.29 billion), but should France introduce a new approach under the so called Mk 2+ redesign, Madrid could also have a rethink.
Upon launch of the program, Airbus said it was targeting a first MkIII prototype flight in 2025 with a first delivery to France to take place in 2029, ahead of a first Spanish delivery in 2030.
The Tiger helicopter is designed for reconnaissance missions, supporting ground troops and striking ground targets, with industry receiving operational feedback from French troops previously deployed in Afghanistan, Libya and the Sahel to inform MkIII subsystem changes, according to company literature from Thales, a subcontractor on the program.
Outside of new armaments, additional features of the upgraded aircraft could include Safran’s Euroflir 510 electro-optical sight, the new Thales TopOwl helmet mounted digital display and FlytX avionics system, alongside integration of the French manufacturer’s Combat Airborne Threat Surveyor (CATS-150) self-protection system.
Christina MacKenzie contributed to this report from Paris.
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