Posted on 12/14/2004 9:29:47 PM PST by naturalman1975
Australia's Defence Force entered "a new era" today when the Army took delivery of two state of the art Tiger helicopters.
The fleet of 22 Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters will be operational by 2007 after extensive training of flight and technical crew.
"We've entered a new era and we're really excited by it," said Chief of the Army, Lieutenant General Peter Leahy, as the first two helicopters were delivered to the Army Aviation Centre at Oakey, west of Brisbane.
The new Eurocopter Tigers, which have been "Australianised", will replace the Army's Vietnam War-era Kiowa and Iroquois helicopters and will be used to conduct reconnaissance in advance of a ground force.
Capable of speeds of 320 knots and a range of 1000km, they are armed with Hellfire missiles, 70mm rockets and cannons.
The Tigers, which can hide behind trees and are significantly quieter than other combat helicopters, are equipped with leading edge communications equipment, sensors and data links.
"The Tigers flexibility, ability to deploy at short notice and to operate in diverse circumstances represents a revolution in the Australian Army's operational versatility," Defence Minister Robert Hill said.
"The Army will be able to conduct tactical reconnaissance and escort and protect our Black Hawk helicopters as they transport troops and supplies."
The first four Tigers are being built at Eurocopter in France, where aircrew simulators will also be assembled.
The remaining 18 helicopters will be assembled at the Australian Aerospace production facility in Brisbane.
The whole fleet of 22 Tigers, ground support, simulators and software maintenance has cost around $1.3 billion.
The fleet will be based in Darwin to patrol Australia's northern coastline with a small number of the helicopters kept at Oakey for flight training.
An important phase for the Tigers will take place early next year when crews test fire the Hellfire missile at Woomera in South Australia.
Tigers are also being used by the French, German and Spanish defence forces.
"They are the easiest helicopters I've ever flown," said Brigadier Mark Path, head of the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter Project Defence Material Organisation.
Army helicopters including Kiowas, Blackhawks, Iroquois, Chinooks and the new Tigers took part in a flypast to mark the delivery today in Oakey.
Photo, Cobber, where's the photo?
Nifty!
I find that claim of 320 knot speed to be a bit hard to swallow.
It's mean and ugly, the way a gunship should be!
Here's a gunship! F- France.
At least that is what is being reported.
Where's the roo-bar? ;)
Found the problem - someone has confused knots and Km/h
The 324 and 270 figures are km/h.
The confusion is appearing in a fair few places.
Here is an Apache's specs, for comparison.:
Maximum speed 273 km/h (147 kts)
This raises a question....
Does anyone know what the performance has been of the Apaches in Iraq?
Do Helicopters still have a Primary role in doctrine? They originally were anti-tank (if I recall correctly).
must be in a steep dive...hehehehe
Sweeeeeeeeet!
Looks more like a Goldfish
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