In July 2009, three French Tiger HAP helicopters of the 5th Helicopter Regiment arrived at Kabul International Airport in Afghanistan, marking the first active deployment of the Tiger into an active combat zone.Hoyle, Craig. "ILA: Eurocopter defends performance of Tiger attack helicopter" . Flightglobal.com, 8 June 2010. Retrieved: 8 June 2010. The helicopters performed armed reconnaissance and fire support missions, acting in support of coalition ground troops fighting a Taliban insurgency. The Tigers had their operational certification in Afghanistan in early August 2009; one French officer described the Tiger's role in the theatre as "find, attack, suppress, seize, raid, and support". By July 2010, it was reported that the Tiger detachment had totalled 1,000 operational hours in Afghanistan."Eurocopter Tiger completes 1,000 hours in Afghanistan ops" . Helihub.com, 30 July 2010. Retrieved: 4 August 2010. On 4 February 2011, a French Tiger crashed during a night time operation about 30 miles east of Kabul and both crew members suffered light injuries.
