ℹ️ ➖➖➖ The Eurocopter Tiger is a four-blade, twin-engine attack helicopter which first entered service in 2003. It is manufactured by Airbus Helicopters (formerly Eurocopter), the successor company to Aérospatiale's and DASA's respective helicopter divisions, which designate it as the EC665. Following their languages, in Germany it is known as the Tiger; in France and Spain it is called the Tigre.
Development of the Tiger started during the Cold War, and it was initially intended as an anti-tank helicopter platform to be used against a Soviet ground invasion of Western Europe. During its prolonged development period the Soviet Union collapsed, but France and Germany chose to proceed with the Tiger, developing it instead as a multirole attack helicopter. It achieved operational readiness in 2008. The Tiger is capable of undertaking a wide range of combat missions, including armed reconnaissance and surveillance, anti-tank and close air support, escort and protection of friendly assets; and can operate during day or night in all-weather conditions, and has been designed to include operations in the aftermath of nuclear, biological, or chemical warfare. The Tiger can also be used in the maritime environment, able to operate from the decks of ships including frigates and during extreme weather conditions. Amongst the Tiger's notable qualities, it possesses very high levels of agility, much of which is attributed to the design of its 13-meter four-bladed hingeless main rotor; the Tiger can perform full loops and negative g manoeuvres. Power is provided by a pair of FADEC-controlled MTU Turbomeca Rolls-Royce MTR390 turboshaft engines. The Tiger has a tandem-seat 'glass cockpit' and is operated by a two-man crew; the pilot is placed in the forward position, with the gunner seated behind. Either of the crew members can manage the weapon systems or the primary flight controls, switching roles if necessitated; in addition to flying the aircraft, the Tiger's pilot would typically be in control of the self-defence systems and communications, as well as some secondary weapons functions. While some of the weapons use dedicated control interfaces, such as the anti-tank Trigat missile, air-to-air weapons can be managed via controls on both sets of collective and cyclic sticks. The protection systems employed on the Tiger includes stealth; aspects such as the visual, radar, infra red and acoustic signatures have been minimised to better evade threats that may be present upon the battlefield. According to Andrew Warner, the Tiger's survivability "relies on stealth and agility". The use of composite materials on the airframe has resulted in reductions in radar cross-section (RCS), infra red and acoustic signatures to improve battlefield survivability. The fuselage is armoured and was developed to withstand small arms fire and 23 mm (0.91 in) cannon rounds. The helicopter has various radar/laser warning and missile approach detection systems, including EADS's AN/AAR-60 MILDS (Missile Launch Detection System), as well as flares and chaff dispensers.
Amongst the key avionics features of the aircraft are the EUROGRID battlefield management and map display systems, integrated communications (HF/VHF/FM radio and satellite) and data transfer links, a high-authority digital automatic flight control system, and redundant MIL 1553 data buses. Two redundant mission computers control the weapons, sensors, and targeting functions. The Tiger's navigational suite includes GPS, dual redundant inertial referencing, Doppler radar, separated air data units, radio altimeter and distributed air speed sensors. A dedicated nose-mounted forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sensor is used by the pilot for night time flying.
📑 ➖➖➖ The Tiger ARH (Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter) is the version ordered by the Australian Army to replace its OH-58 Kiowas and UH-1 Iroquois-based 'Bushranger' gunships. The Tiger ARH is a modified and upgraded version of the Tiger HAP with upgraded MTR390 engines as well as a laser designator incorporated in the Strix sight for the firing of Hellfire II air-to-ground missiles. Instead of SNEB unguided rockets, the ARH will use 70 mm (2.75 in) rockets from Belgian developer, Forges de Zeebrugge (FZ). Twenty-two of the variant were ordered in December 2001. Most of the helicopters will be operated by the 1st Aviation Regiment based at Robertson Barracks in Darwin. The helicopter was shipped to Australia in part form and locally assembled at Brisbane Airport by Australia Aerospace.
The first two ARH helicopters were delivered to Australia on 15 December 2004. ARH deliveries were to be completed by June 2010 with Full operating capability planned for December 2011.
In 2012 after three incidents with cockpit fumes that endangered aircrew, pilots voted to not fly until all safety concerns were addressed.
In August 2014, the Australian Defence Force and BAE Systems Australia successfully trialled the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System laser guidance kit for use with the ARH's 70mm FZ unguided rockets.
The 2016 Australian Defence White Paper stated that the Tiger helicopters will be replaced with other armed reconnaissance aircraft in the mid 2020s. Issues cited include lack of commonality with the other Tiger variants, high maintenance cost of the engines and the shipping time of sending parts to Europe for repair and reconditioning.
The Australian Army's Tiger ARHs reached their final operating capability on 18 April 2016. In April 2019, the Australian Army renewed Airbus Helicopters maintenance contract for a further 5 years running through to 2025.
In July 2019, Australia's Capability, Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG) issued a request for information to replace their Tiger helicopters. This request surprised many experts, as the issues mentioned in the 2016 White Paper appeared to have been mostly resolved. The aim is to procure a "proven and mature, manned, off-the-shelf armed helicopter" that can also operate from Australia's growing fleet of helicopter-capable landing ships. The RFI's deadlines are very strict: Initial Operational Capability should be attained by 2026 and all 29 aircraft and training system should be delivered by 2029 at the latest.
The Australian Government announced in January 2021 that it would purchase an unspecified number of AH-64E Apache Guardians to replace the Tigers.

▪️ 🛠 Manufacturer Eurocopter. Airbus Helicopters;
▪️ ✅ First flight 27 April 1991;
▪️ 👤 Crew: 2 (pilot and weapon systems officer)
▪️ 📏 Length: 14.08 m (46 ft 2 in) fuselage
▪️ ↕️ Height: 3.83 m (12 ft 7 in)
Airfoil: blade root: DFVLR DM-H3; blade tip:DFVLR DM-H4[119]
▪️ ⬇ Empty weight: 3,060 kg (6,746 lb)
▪️ ⬇ Gross weight: 5,090 kg (11,222 lb)
▪️ ↗️ Max takeoff weight: 6,000 kg (13,228 lb)
▪️ 🛢 Fuel capacity: 1,080 kg (2,381 lb) internals
▪️ ⚙ Powerplant: 2 × MTR MTR390 turboshaft engines, 972 kW (1,303 shp) each
▪️ 🔄 Main rotor diameter: 13 m (42 ft 8 in)
▪️ 🔁 Main rotor area: 132.75 m2 (1,428.9 sq ft)
▪️ ⏭ Maximum speed: 290 km/h (180 mph, 160 kn) with rotor head mast, 315 km/h (196 mph; 170 kn) without rotor head mast
▪️ 🛢 Range: 800 km (500 mi, 430 nmi)
▪️ 🔁 Ferry range: 1,300 km (810 mi, 700 nmi) with external tanks on the inboard hardpoints
▪️ 🔂 Service ceiling: 4,000 m (13,000 ft)
▪️ ⬆️ Rate of climb: 10.7 m/s (2,110 ft/min)
▪️ 🔄 Disk loading: 38.343 kg/m2 (7.853 lb/sq ft)
▪️ ⚡️ Power/mass: 0.38 kW/kg (0.23 hp/lb)
▪️ ⚔️ Guns:
1× 30 mm (1.18 in) GIAT 30 cannon in chin turret, with up to 450 rounds
On each of its two inner hardpoints and two outer hardpoints the Tiger can carry a combination of the following weapons:
Inner hardpoints:
1x 20 mm (0.787 in) autocannon pods, or
22x 68 mm (2.68 in) SNEB unguided rockets in a pod, or
19x 70 mm (2.75 in) Hydra 70 unguided rockets in a pod or
4x AGM-114 Hellfire missiles (Australia/France) or
4x Spike-ER missiles (Spain) or
4x PARS 3 LR missiles (Germany) or
4x HOT3 missiles (Germany)
Outer hardpoints:
2x Mistral air-to-air missiles, or
2x Air-to-Air Stinger (ATAS) air-to-air missiles (Germany), or
12x 68 mm (2.68 in) SNEB unguided rockets in a pod or
7x 70 mm (2.75 in) Hydra 70 unguided rockets in a pod

Ref: Wikipedia.