France's deployment of the Eurocopter Tiger to Afghanistan for the first time is set to provide a stern test of the aircraft's support systems - notably the crew mission preparation module (MPME) from Sagem.
The French defence ministry confirmed in the past few days that, with the agreement of President Nicolas Sarkozy, three Tigers will be sent to the country "this summer". No further details have been released.
The MPME system is now fully operational with the 5th Combat Helicopter Regiment operating Tigers from its base at Pau and a version is in use at the Franco-German Tiger School (EFA) at Le Luc.
EFA deputy commander Col Christian Fanchini says it is one of the industry-supplied elements already in place that mean the Tiger could be deployed in "four to six weeks" from the political decision being taken.
It is designed to provide a 3D visualisation of the entire mission for multiple types of helicopter if required, taking into account aircraft performance, choice of weapons, identified missile threats, and topography. Sagem says it can be transported in a Super Puma helicopter and deployed in just 20min.
Crews can "fly" the mission in fast time and be presented with an accurate portrayal of terrain and intervisibility between different zones. Afterwards the system can be used to feedback crews' experiences and allow debriefing. Data is prepared on workstations and loaded via USB flash memory or PCMCIA card.
The system, marketed internationally as Helipsys, is being demonstrated live at the show on static display stand A74.
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Source: Flight Daily News
