Eurocopter Gives Lockheed A Contract To Place Hellfire II On Helo

Eurocopter, a unit of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., gave Lockheed Martin Corp. [LMT] a contract to help integrate the Hellfire II missile on the Hélicoptre d’Appui Destruction (HAD) Tiger attack helicopter, Lockheed announced.

The direct commercial sale contract involves the Hellfire II precision-strike missile and all-digital M299 smart missile launcher on the helicopter.

Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

The 54-month integration effort includes training missiles, inert missiles, 80 M299 missile launchers and test equipment.

Integration will occur at the Eurocopter facility in Marignane, France, with ground tests beginning in October and flight tests in March.

Eurocopter holds the HAD Tiger integration contract with the multi-national European Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation.

Hellfire II is already successfully integrated and qualified on the Australian Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) Tiger helicopter.

In a comprehensive flight test program at Woomera Testing Range in South Australia, from May to December 2005, Hellfire was 7-for-7 over a wide spectrum of engagement scenarios.

Last August, the French Délégation Générale pour l’Armement (DGA) launched Hellfire from an Australian Tiger at the Woomera Range. The first-time gunner, a French pilot, employing a lock-on-before-launch technique, scored a direct hit with the Hellfire II missile on a target six kilometers (3.7 miles) away.

Hellfire II also is fielded to the U.S. armed forces and the armed forces of 14 other nations by Hellfire Systems, Limited Liability Co. (HSLLC). Lockheed Martin performs all of the work scope on behalf of HSLLC.