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HMAS Canberra conducting first-of-class flight trials with the Tiger armed reconnaissance helicopter (ARH). Source: Commonwealth of Australia
The Australian Army has begun flight trials of its Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) onboard the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN's) first-of-class amphibious assault ship, HMAS Canberra (L 02).
The trials, which are being conducted with two airframes since 23 February, are expected to continue over the next six weeks in Sydney, according to the Australian Department of Defence (DoD).
"We are doing a full ship helicopter operating limitation development on all six flight deck spots," said Lieutenant Grant Thaler, a flight test engineer from the RAN's aircraft maintenance and flight trials unit, in a report published by the service's official news site on 27 February.
The Tiger helicopters are expected to operate as forward scouting platforms, and as an escort to the country's MRH90 helicopters, when deployed from on board the amphibious assault ships, the report added.
According to Jane's World Armies, Australia currently operates a fleet of 22 Tiger ARH helicopters. The aircraft, which were delivered between 2004 and 2011, achieved full operational capability (FOC) with the Australian Army in mid-2016. The platform can each carry a combination of AGM-114M Hellfire air-to-ground missiles and 70 mm unguided rockets, in addition to a stabilised 30 mm automatic cannon.
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http://www.janes.com/article/68265/...-trials-of-tiger-helicopters-on-hmas-canberra
