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Tiger Helicopter
The following information was supplied by Eurocopter and does not pertain directly to the ARH variant.
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The Tiger helicopter is being developed in two configurations, an antitank helicopter and a combat support helicopter, by the international Eurocopter company and funded by Germany and France.
Tiger Anti-Tank Helicopter
The requirements for the Tiger anti-tank helicopter are the identification and engagement of ground targets by day and night to ranges exceeding 5 km, low detectability and a self-defence capability.
Anti-Tank Configuration
Tiger has an Osiris mast-mounted sight from SFIM, with infra-red charge coupled device (IRCCD) camera and laser rangefinder. The displays in the cockpit are four colour with a digital map and two helmet mounted sights and displays.
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There is a nose-mounted forward looking infra-red (FLIR) with a 40 x 30 degree field of view. The German version of Tiger is equipped with a Marconi Electronic Systems integrated Day and Night Helmet.
The French Tigre helicopter has a helmet mounted sight from Sextant Avionique for both crew stations, and a head up display from Sextant Avionique for the pilot.
Anti-Air Missiles
Tiger can be equipped with four MISTRAL or four Stinger air-to-air missiles. The air-to-air missile control functions are on the flight control grip. Target acquisition is achieved by using the joystick to steer the sight manually or with automatic tracking. The FIM-92 Stinger missile, produced by Raytheon and
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Anti-Tank Missiles
The Tiger is armed with HOT and TRIGAT LR anti-tank missiles. The anti-tank missiles are used by the gunner Only one weapon is activated at a time. The TRIGAT LR missile has been developed by the Euromissile consortium, funded by the UK and Germany. Range is 500 metres to 5000 metres. The firing rate for salvo firing is quoted as up to four missiles in eight seconds. TRIGAT LR can be applied in direct attack or terminal dive attack modes. The HOT missile is a short to medium range missile developed by Euromissile. Range is up to 4000 metres.
Combat Support Tiger
In its combat support role the Tiger uses a gun for short range engagements and 68 millimetre rockets at medium and long range. It can be equipped with Mistral missiles to engage airborne threats.
Combat Support Configuration
The helicopter is equipped with a turreted 30mm gun together with either four Mistral missiles, 44 rockets plus 4 Mistral missiles, or 68 rockets. Only one weapon can be activated at a time.
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The Combat Support Tiger has a Strix roof-mounted sight from SFIM, with a gyrostabilised platform, infrared camera, charge coupled device television camera (CCD TV), laser rangefinder and direct optical sight. The combat support Tiger helicopter for the French Army (Tigre HAP) is equipped with a 30 mm AM-30781automatic cannon from Giat. Rate of fire is 750 rounds per minute.
The Tiger HAP also carries four Mistral missiles and two pods each carrying twenty two SNEB 68 mm rockets. It can alternatively carry an additional two pods each carrying 12 rockets in place of the four Mistral missiles.
Structure
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In order to minimise the weight approximately 80% of the airframe has been constructed of composite materials. The frames and beams have been fabricated from Kevlar and carbon laminates. Panels are composed of Nomex honeycomb material with carbon and Kevlar skins. The helicopter blades are of fibre-composite construction. Radar reflective structures and surfaces have been minimised. Low infra-red reflection paints have been used and an IR suppressor has been fitted to the engine exhaust.
The self-sealing tanks are equipped with an inert gas system to avoid the danger of an explosive fuel vapour and air mix. The engines are separated by armour plate to prevent the loss of both engines in the event of a single direction hit. The helicopter has nuclear, biological and chemical warfare (NBC) and nuclear electromagnetic pulse protection.
Avionics
The avionics suite includes:- a dual redundant data bus, MIL 1553B
- four multi-function colour displays, two for the pilot and two for the gunner
- autonomous navigation systems
- automatic flight control system
- digital map generator
- radar and laser warning receivers
Automatic Flight Control
The Automatic Flight Control System, AFCS, consists of two redundant digital computers which control attitude hold, heading hold, capture and hold of altitude, hold of doppler hover, hold of hover height as determined by radar altimeter, capture and hold of line of sight, hold of vertical speed, the navigation mode and gun firing compensation.
Control and Display Unit
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Navigation
The navigation system contains two three-axis ring laser gyro units from Sextant Avionique, two magnetometers, two air data computers, a four-beam Doppler radar CMA 2012 from Canadian Marconi, a radio altimeter, a global positioning system and a suite of low air speed sensors.
Multi-Function Displays
Each cockpit is equipped with two multi-function colour displays supplied by Sextant Avionique and VDO Luftfahrtgerate Werk GmbH, which display imagery from the gunner's sight, the Forward Looking Infra-Red (FLIR) sight and video image from the digital map generator which is supplied by Dornier and VDO.Tiger - Specification
| Design mission weight | 5400 kilograms |
| Alternate gross weight | 6000 kilograms |
| Length | 14 metres |
| Height | 3.81 metres |
| Wing span | 13 metres |
| Hover out of ground effect (OGE) |
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| Vertical rate of climb |
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| Maximum rate of climb |
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| Flight speed, armed |
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| Cruise speed | 124 knots |
| Design limit speed |
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| Maximum range, internal fuel | 800 km |
| Mission endurance | 2 hours 50 minutes |
| Maximum endurance, internal fuel | 3 hours 25 minutes |
| Agility | 40 degree angle of yaw after first second |
| Trigat missile range | 500 metres to 5 kilometres |
| Maximum air to air missile range | > 5 kilometres Maximum autonomous |
| Target identification and engagement | 5 kilometres |
| Maximum internal fuel capacity | 1020 kilograms |
| Maximum internal plus external fuel capacity | 1575 kilograms |
