German Army Orders PARS 3 LR Long Range Anti-Tank Missile

Released on Friday, June 30, 2006

The procurement contract for PARS 3 LR missiles was signed in Koblenz by the Federal Office of Defence Technology and Procurement (BWB), the German MBDA subsidiary LFK-Lenkflugk�rpersysteme GmbH and Diehl BGT Defence. PARS 3 LR is the main armament of the TIGER helicopter. PARSYS, a joint venture between LFK-Lenkflugk�rpersysteme GmbH (50%) and Diehl BGT Defence (50%), will in future act as contract holder on the industrial side for industrialization and series production of PARS 3 LR missiles.

PARS 3 LR (third generation missile/long-range) was developed for the TIGER support helicopter and enables the precise combating of hardened high-value targets from a distance of up to 6,000m. Being equipped with the fire-and-forget missile with passive infrared target seeker head allows the helicopter to reach its required operational performance. It distinguishes itself through high operational flexibility with maximum self protection for flight hardware and the crew. The efficient state-of-the-art warhead offers a superior effect on missions and has a high growth potential when it comes to fulfilling future requirements.

The order volume of the contract for industrialization and delivery of 680 missiles for the German Army by the year 2014 is approx. 380 million euros. It is an important contribution to the preservation of core competencies and production capabilities in Germany and will secure highly qualified jobs.

Development of the overall PARS 3 LR system was formally completed in mid-2004. However, since the series production contract for TIGER, of which 80 helicopters are destined for the Bundeswehr, was signed back in 1998, LFK GmbH has been manufacturing the components of the PARS 3 LR system to be installed in or on the helicopter � such as launchers, electronics, etc. � and Eurocopter has been integrating these into the platform.