Safran Electronics & Defense has signed a contract with the Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) to supply 18 more Strix optronic sights for the Tiger helicopter program in France. This latest tranche is part of France’s revised 2014-2019 defense spending plan, which calls for a homogenous fleet of 67 Tiger HAD (multi-role attack) helicopters.

Strix is a major part of the Tiger HAD’s weapon system and plays a crucial role in all missions, from reconnaissance to escort, protection, fire support and attack.

Developed and produced by Safran, the Strix sight for the Tiger HAD is a gyrostabilized optronic system comprising a thermal imager, daylight camera and laser designator. It provides highly effective day/night support for all weapons on the Tiger HAD, including Hellfire laser-guided missiles, rockets accurate to within a meter and the Spike missiles.

Production of this new tranche of Strix sights will involve several Safran entities through 2020 and beyond. Through-life support for these sights is covered by a comprehensive multiyear contract awarded by OCCAR to Safran in late 2016 for all sights on the Tiger helicopters deployed by Germany, Spain and France.

Strix has been used daily by Tiger crews at the French army’s ALAT light aviation unit since 2009 for combat deployments from land bases and the French navy’s BPC-type force projection and command vessels in some of the most hostile theatres.

Working with other Safran companies, Safran Electronics & Defense is a long-standing partner to Airbus Helicopters for new and retrofit programs across its entire range of military and civil helicopters. It supplies a broad array of systems and equipment, including gyrostabilized optronic systems, inertial navigation systems, mission planning systems, flight controls and processors.

Safran is an international high-technology group and tier-1 supplier of systems and equipment in the Aerospace and Defense markets. Operating worldwide, Safran has nearly 58,000 employees and generated sales of 15.8 billion euros in 2016. Safran is listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange, and its share is part of the CAC 40 and Euro Stoxx 50 indices.

Safran Electronics & Defense is a world leader in optronics, avionics, electronics and critical software for both civil and defense applications. The company’s products are deployed worldwide on more than 500 ships, 7,000 armored vehicles and 10,000 aircraft.