French army receives first enhanced Tiger HAD

France's DGA defence procurement agency has received its first Eurocopter Tiger in the enhanced HAD configuration for operation by the country's army aviation units.

The delivery on 19 April follows acceptance of the type by the DGA earlier in April and certification in January 2013. Enhancements over the previous HAP air-support variant include uprated MTR390 engines, the addition of Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles and increased ballistic protection.
France has 40 Tiger HADs on order, with a further 24 examples ordered by Spain, including the retrofitting of six previously delivered aircraft.

Lutz Bertling, the outgoing Eurocopter chief executive, says the airframer is in discussions for at least one further Tiger order, although he plays down suggestions that any deal is close.

Eurocopter

Meanwhile, France continues to mull the status of an order for 34 NH Industries NH90 troop transport helicopters, as it works to define its future defence spending priorities.

"The requirement is clearly there, but the French government is in the process of deciding which requirements will be prioritised depending on the available budget," said Bertling at a media event in Marignane on 17 April.

Nonetheless, Bertling says he remains confident the order will come through, albeit in a modestly reduced form. "I don't expect much deviation from 34," he notes.

He refused to be drawn on the authenticity of a note, leaked to the French media, which purported to be from Eurocopter to the French government warning of the consequences for the NH90 programme should the commitment not be forthcoming.

However, Bertling pointed out the logic of the claims. "Any business, for whatever product, needs to make sense for a production line. Below a certain quantity it does not make such sense. Without this [French] contract we are facing a risk. We would anticipate export orders to have largely finished [by that point]. We would be facing a critical situation on that programme," he says.

Eurocopter continues to eye further export opportunities for its military helicopters, with Bertling again highlighting the potential of the US Army's as-yet-unlaunched Armed Aerial Scout programme. This comes despite last week's US defence budget request for 2014, which saw the total number of UH-72 Lakotas trimmed by 30 units.

India-France to Hold Major Naval Exercise

India and France will be holding a joint naval exercise off the Goa coast on April 17, which is mainly aimed at honing the skills of Indian Navy in tackling anti-piracy and anti-submarine operations.

"The 30-hour exercise would begin on April 17 morning", said Commander Guillaume Fontarensky, commanding the anti-submarine Destroyer 'FNS Montcalm', currently docked at Goa's Mormugao Port Trust (MPT), before initiating exercises with the Indian Navy.

The exercise is the part of a larger naval drill held annually between the French and Indian navies.

"Such kind of smaller exercises are held to increase the understanding between the two navies in between the larger drill", said Fontarensky.

"The exercise, scheduled off the Goa coast, would hone the skills of Indian Navy in anti-submarine and anti-piracy operations", the commander said, adding a common procedure would be developed by both the navies to fight against submarines of hostile nations.

He said the details about participation from Indian counterpart would be known only after the session on Monday.

Meanwhile, Francois Richier, French Ambassador in India, told reporters that such an exchange was crucial for ensuring safety of the Indian Ocean.

"The threat can come from anywhere, even from under the sea. This is very important for ensuring safety of the Indian Ocean", the Ambassador said, adding the threat of piracy in Indian Ocean has diminished to a great extent on the back of crackdown on the sea brigands by various navies.

"The number of attacks by pirates has decreased of late, compared to the past", Richier said.

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