German Navy announced that German Navy would purchase Sea Tiger helicopters for frigates. The new helicopters will be used to carry out combat missions against submarines and ships.
The budget committee of the German Bundestag (German Parliament) adopted a budget of 2.7 billion euros for the purchase of 31 multi-role helicopters. Like the Sea Lion naval transport helicopter, Sea Tiger helicopters are based on the naval version of the NH-90 helicopter. The Sea Lion is a helicopter designed to replace Germany’s Westland Sea King helicopter in the NH-90’s SAR (Search and Rescue) and Vertrep (vertical replenishment) roles and entered the service of the German Navy as of 2019.
New Sea Tiger will be the future multi-role helicopter that will provide protection for the frigates of the German navy. The helicopter will provide close-range protection against hostile attacks, and the helicopters on board, armed with torpedoes or guided missiles, will be used both in submarine hunting and against ships. Sea Tiger helicopters will be able to perform search and rescue missions as well as transport missions.
The Sea Tiger will replace the Sea Lynx Mk88A, currently serving in the German Navy for naval surveillance, anti-surface warfare (ASuW), anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and search and rescue (SAR) missions.
The helicopter is based on a naval version of the NH-90, a mid-size, double-engine, multi-role military helicopter. It was developed to meet NATO’s requirements for a combat helicopter that can also be used in naval missions. The NH90 was developed and manufactured by NHIndustries, a joint company owned by Airbus Helicopters, Leonardo (formerly AgustaWestland) and Fokker Aerostructures.
Multi-Role Frigate Helicopter (MRFH) NH 90 Sea Tiger will be equipped with Light Tiger torpedo MU90. The lightweight torpedo is designed and equipped with the most advanced technologies to resist both conventional and nuclear submarines. Torpedo is a fire-and-forget anti-submarine weapon that can be launched from both vessels and helicopters.
