(Germany is suspending its 3 billion euro (2.6 billion pounds) purchase of EADS's (EAD.PA) Tiger attack helicopter due to technical problems, potentially delaying delivery to its forces in Afghanistan until end-2011. An internal ministry report obtained by Reuters on Tuesday said the step was being taken because of serious problems with the wiring of the helicopter built by EADS unit Eurocopter."Until the faults have been effectively and systematically rectified, the defence ministry plans to suspend the purchase of the ... helicopters," the report said.
The problems, which also cropped up with Tigers which had only had a few hours flying time, meant delivery of the first deployable helicopters would be delayed by at least seven months until November 2011, according to the report.
None of the 11 Tiger helicopters delivered so far has been suitable for operational use or training, the report added. The Franco-German attack helicopter first flew in 2003 but its entry into service has been delayed by technical problems.
France and Germany ordered 80 Tigers each but they are being built in different versions to suit their operational needs. Germany's order for the 80 Tiger helicopters was worth around 3 billion euros, according to previous estimates.