Tigre HAD What is it? The joint Airbus attack helicopter manufactured in Europe.
Tigre HAD
It is a joint attack helicopter manufactured between France and Germany, produced by Airbus Helicopters. The family name Tigre/Tiger has subvariants such as HAP (French support variant), UHT (German ATGM variant), HAD (advanced French variant), HCP (improved Mk3). European equivalent of the Apache — lighter, smaller, more economical. Used in operations in Mali, Afghanistan, Lebanon.
What is the Tigre HAD?
Tigre (in French) or Tiger (in German), is a two-seat attack helicopter developed in the 1990s by Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters) to meet the needs of France and Germany. It is the European equivalent of the American Apache, but its design philosophy is different:
- The Apache is a heavy, heavily loaded, and heavily armed helicopter (approximately 8 tons empty).
- The Tigre is a lighter and smaller platform (≈3.5 tons empty) — fuel-efficient, fast, operational with a smaller crew.
The Tigre family includes different variants:
- HAP (Hélicoptère d’Appui Protection) — French Army support variant. Focused on cannons, rockets, air-to-air missiles.
- UHT (Unterstützungshubschrauber Tiger) — German army variant. Equipped with PARS 3 ATGM, machine guns, rockets.
- HAD (Hélicoptère d’Appui Destruction) — Advanced French variant, integrates AGM-114 Hellfire. Spain also uses this variant.
- HCP / Mk3 — Mk3 modernization program.
Operational use: Afghanistan (French and German forces), Mali (Operation Serval/Barkhane), Lebanon, Libya. Field experience is mixed: reliability and operational readiness rates were criticized in Mali, but the platform remained an important political indicator of the European defense industry.
Germany decided to withdraw early a significant portion of its Tigers and purchase AH-64E Apache (2023). France, on the other hand, plans to continue using the Tigers long-term with the Mk3 modernization.
