Eurocopter Tiger

The Eurocopter EC665 Tiger is a four-blade, twin-engine attack helicopter manufactured by Airbus Helicopters, formerly Eurocopter, which arose from the merger of the helicopter divisions of Aérospatiale and DASA. Development began in the Cold War as an anti-tank platform against a Soviet invasion of Western Europe, and after the Soviet Union collapsed France and Germany developed it instead as a multirole attack helicopter. The first prototype made its maiden flight on 27 April 1991, the type first entered service in 2003 and it reached operational readiness in 2008. It is powered by a pair of FADEC-controlled MTU Turbomeca Rolls-Royce MTR390 turboshaft engines and was the first all-composite helicopter developed in Europe. Tigers have been used in combat in Afghanistan and Libya.