Development of the Tiger started during the Cold War, and it was initially intended as an anti-tank helicopter platform to be used against a Soviet ground invasion of Western Europe.

The Tiger has the distinction of being the first all-composite helicopter developed in Europe; even the earliest models also incorporate other advanced features such as a glass cockpit, stealth technology, and high agility to increase its survivability.

[3] According to statements by the French Defence Minister André Giraud in April 1986, the collaborative effort had become more expensive than an individual national programme and was also forecast to take longer to complete.

[3] France and Germany reorganised the programme, including steps such as the adoption of fixed-term contracts which placed greater financial risk upon the private firms involved.

[3] Despite the early development problems and the political uncertainty between 1984 and 1986, the program was formally relaunched in November 1987; it was at this point that a greater emphasis on the attack helicopter's anti-tank capabilities came about.

[5] In November 1989, Eurocopter signed an agreement that financially secured the majority of the helicopter's development through to serial production, including arrangements for two assembly lines to be built at Aerospatiale's Marignane plant and MBB's Donauwörth facility.

[8] In 1992, Aérospatiale and MBB, among other companies, merged to form the Eurocopter Group; this led to considerable consolidation of the aerospace industry and the Tiger project itself.

[9] A major agreement was struck in December 1996 between France and Germany that cemented the Tiger's prospects and committed the development of supporting elements, such as a series of new generation missile designs for use by the new helicopter.

[11] On 18 June 1999, Germany and France publicly placed orders for an initial batch of 160 Tiger helicopters, 80 for each nation, valued at €3.3 billion.

The 24 helicopters of this type would be armed with the PARS 3 LR and Mistral missile systems, and feature uprated Enhanced MTR390 engines capable of lifting heavier payloads.

[34] In 2011, several Tigers participated in firing trials of the PARS 3 LR missile as part of a sales effort targeted at the Indian armed forces.

[47] Crew new to the Tiger have to undergo substantial retraining due to the differences from older platforms, particularly in higher workload management and the additional capabilities afforded by the type; one major change from preceding attack helicopters is a far greater degree of operational autonomy.

[52] The protection systems employed on the Tiger includes stealth; aspects such as the visual, radar, infrared and acoustic signatures have been minimised to better evade threats that may be present upon the battlefield.

[54] The use of composite materials on the airframe has resulted in reductions in radar cross-section (RCS), infrared and acoustic signatures to improve battlefield survivability.

The structure of the Tiger also incorporates protection against lightning strikes and electromagnetic pulses via an embedded copper/bronze grid and copper bonding foil.

[59] The design of the Tiger includes a high degree of crash worthiness; many of the onboard systems have redundancies and are segregated to minimise the effect of damage.

[63] Perhaps the most significant single avionics system fitted upon the Tiger is the mast-mounted Osiris sight/sensor; this incorporates optical TV and thermal cameras, a laser range finder/tracker/designator, and multiple gyroscopes for stabilisation.

[64] In December 2008, final qualification of the HAP and UHT variants of the Tiger was completed, marking the platform's readiness for operational duties overseas.

[70] 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.

[75] On 4 June 2011, French Tigers, alongside British Army Apache helicopters, began conducting combat operations in Libya.

All had previously undergone upgrades under the ASGARD programme; the modifications include the addition of new defensive systems, sand filters for the MTR390 engines, and enhancements to the communications suite.

[79] Between 30 January 2013 and 30 June 2014, the German Tigers flew 1,860 hours and 260 sorties supporting NATO ground troops, Afghan security forces, and humanitarian relief efforts after floods.

[82] In January 2013, as part of France's intervention in the Northern Mali conflict, a small number of Tigers were deployed for combat operations to that theatre.

[83] In March 2017, German Tigers were rotated into the same country in support of MINUSMA, relieving Apaches of the Royal Netherlands Air Force.

[85] A subsequent investigation discovered that mistakes by improperly trained civilian maintenance contractors had caused a fatal malfunction.

The weapon configuration was designed to be multirole and easily convertible to cover the whole spectrum of possible mission scenarios and to be effective against a broad range of targets.

[17] The Tiger HAD (Hélicoptère d'Appui Destruction,[93] in French or Helicóptero de Apoyo y Destrucción in Spanish for "Support and Destruction Helicopter") version is essentially identical to the HAP version but better suited for operations in hot environments, with 14% more engine power available due to the upgraded Enhanced MTR390 engines (1,092 kW / 1,464 shp during normal operation; 1,322 kW / 1,774 shp in contingency power mode), maximum take-off weight is increased to 6,600 kg, communication suite is expanded with Up Link and Down Link satellite antenna[94] and better ballistic protection as a result of the specific requests made by the Spanish Army.

[102][103] The Tiger ARH (Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter) was the version ordered by the Australian Army to replace its OH-58 Kiowas and UH-1 Iroquois-based 'Bushranger' gunships.

[107] Issues cited include lack of commonality with the other Tiger variants, high maintenance cost of the engines and the shipping time of sending parts to Europe for repair and reconditioning.

[112] The aim is to procure a "proven and mature, manned, off-the-shelf armed helicopter" that can also operate from Australia's growing fleet of helicopter-capable landing ships.