Eurocopter's Tiger selected as the tenderer by the Australian Minister of Defence
Marignane, 10 August 2001
The Honorable Peter Reith, MP, Minister for Defence of Australia, has just announced today the selection of Eurocopter International Pacific, the Eurocopter subsidiary for this region, as the tenderer to advance to the tender development stage of Project Air 87, Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters (ARH).
This announcement confirms the Tiger as a complete defence system capable of meeting today's modern and high demanding missions. The Tiger ARH will substantially increase the level of capabilities available to the Australian Army.
Jean-François Bigay, President of Eurocopter, stated "we are very proud of this Australian decision which demonstrates, beyond the Tiger exclusive operational qualities, Eurocopter's capability and willingness to establish close and high quality long-term industrial partnerships with Australia. This is a very good news for Australia, France, Germany and any future Tiger users."
22 Tiger helicopters are planned to be built in Queensland and some parts will be exclusively produced in Australia for the entire Tiger program.
Eurocopter is proud to meet the Department of Defence policy to achieve an acceleration of new equipment into service through the reformed acquisition process used for the AIR 87 tender.
Eurocopter is a wholly-owned subsidiary of EADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company) one of the three largest aeronautics manufacturers in the world.
