CANBERRA, Australia - The Australian Department of Defense has given the green light for the upgrade of the Australian Army's Tiger armed reconnaissance helicopters with tactical information exchange solutions. The approval for the upgrade - being performed under LAND 2089 Phase 3B - on 21 Eurocopter Tigers acquired between 2004 and 2011 was announced by Minister for Defense David Johnston on October 20.
Absorbing the Tiger helicopter fleet has not been without problems for Australia - the Australian Army was forced to suspend flying on them at three separate intervals in 2012 (March, July and November) due to leakage of fumes into the cockpit. But with the Tigers representing a crucial aspect of the combined arms land force battlespace concept being pursued their upgrade with interim Tactical Data Link capability is considered necessary.
The cost of the upgrade is estimated at less than AUD20 million ($17.5 million) and will be largely managed by Elbit Systems Australia. The project is viewed as a stepping-stone towards a fully integrated tactical data link solution post-2020.
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