TIGER - A STUDY IN INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIVE HELICOPTER ENGINEERING

A number of European procurement programmes of defence equipment are u ndertaken as international collaborative ventures. It might be imagine d that the inherent management complexities of such undertakings would create overpowering temptation to settle for technically unimaginativ e solutions, but nothing could be further from the truth. The Eurocopt er Tiger helicopter, which is under development for the French and Ger man governments, and is also being offered to the British Ministry of Defence, is a good example of a 'high tech' programme. The author revi ews the management arrangements and provides a few examples of the adv anced engineering that have been incorporated in this new helicopter.