Airbus has signed a contract with OCCAR, the joint armament cooperation organization of France and Spain, to upgrade their Tiger attack and reconnaissance helicopters to the MkIII standard.
This upgrade will include 42 French Army helicopters and 18 Spanish Army helicopters, with an option for France to retrofit an additional 25 helicopters. The Tiger MkIII program will integrate state-of-the-art avionics, such as Safran Strix NG sights, Thales FlytX avionics suite, Topowl DD helmet-mounted sight display, Indra IFF upgrade, Thales GNSS, and Safran’s inertial navigation system, allowing the platform to be connected to the “digital battlefield” and reducing the workload of the crew.
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The first Tiger MkIII prototype is expected to fly in 2025, with deliveries starting in 2029 for France and 2030 for Spain. The upgraded Tiger helicopters will remain a modern asset to the armies and strengthen defense cooperation in Europe.