The Tiger cockpit consortium: who makes what.

The Tiger Cockpit Consortium: Who Makes What

Except for the electrical connections, laser and radar warning systems, radios and IFF system, all the instrumentation inside the cockpit of the Franco-German Tigre/Tiger combat helicopter will be the responsibility of a team made up of Sextant Avionique on the French side and VDO-Luft, Teldix, MBB, Nord Micro and Rohde & Schwartz on the German side. The team was formally selected on 30 November 1989 and the investment is shared by the two countries on a 50/50 basis. Judging from the above list of manufacturers it may appear at first sight that there is a numerical imbalance between French and German manufacturers. However, one has to remember that Sextant is itself a company resulting from the merger of a number of French companies earlier this year (see Armada International 1/1990, page 70 for full description). * The main computers are the responsibility of Sextant, VDO and Litef. The network consists of five computers based on common hardware and software modules and each one of the partners is fully responsible for one or several modules (to maintain an even balance in terms of both quantity and quality). * The autonomous navigation system: here, Sextant acts as the prime contractor, and works in co-operation with Teldix and MBB. The system consists of Sextant three-axis laser scopes, Sextant silicon accelerometers, a Teldix digital Doppler radar and an MBB altimeter. * The multiple function displays are being developed as flat colour liquid crystal displays by VDO and Sextant with the latter acting as the prime contractor. There will be two of these large-size screens at each position in the cockpit. * The automatic flight control system is the responsibility of Nord Micro with Sextant acting as subcontractor. It will be a fully digital duplex system based on two computers using 69020 microprocessors and running on ADA language. * The control and display unit (also known as the CDU): Rohde & Schwarz - prime contractor - is in charge of the overall design, with the collaboration of Sextant. The unit will provide management of airborne radio communications and navigation. Weapon selection will be made via an alphanumeric keyboard and its screen will be the helicopter application of a new technique known as "thin film electroluminescence". * Standby instruments: air-speed indicator, altimeter, engine performance indicators, radio frequency indicator and rate-of-climbindicator are being jointly developed by Sextant and VDO. BGT is Sextant's partner on the standby horizon.

As things now stand, West Germany has a requirement for 212 PAH2 versions of the Tiger and France for 140 HACs. They will all use the systems described above, in addition to a GPS unit which has just become a formal requirement. The expected turnover for the entire team is estimated at close to 2300 million French Francs.

France will also be receiving 75 additional Tigers in the HAP configuration. These will be equipped with a chin-mounted gun. For this specific version, Sextant is developing a helmet-mounted sight, a holographic head-up display and a micromonitor for the gyrostabilised gunsight. The helmet being currently developed for the French Army has a monocular combiner (see Armada 1/1990, page 71) but Sextant has embarked, as a private venture, on the development of a binocular system (with two tubes) offering a 20 degree field of view. The position of the helmet is detected in the three dimensions by a three-point magnetic locator system.