The
Aérospatiale Gazelle is a
French five-seat
helicopter, commonly used for light transport, scouting and light attack duties. It is powered by a single
Turbomeca Astazou turbine engine and was the first helicopter to feature a
fenestron tail instead of a conventional
tail rotor. It was designed by
Sud Aviation, later
Aérospatiale, and manufactured in France and the United Kingdom through a joint production agreement with
Westland Aircraft. Further
manufacturing under license was performed by
SOKO in Yugoslavia and the
Arab British Helicopter Company (ABHCO) in Egypt.
Since being introduced to service in 1973, the Gazelle has been procured and operated by a number of export customers. It has also participated in numerous conflicts around the world, including by
Syria during the
1982 Lebanon War, by
Rwanda during the
Rwandan Civil War in the 1990s, and by numerous participants on both sides of the 1991
Gulf War. In French service, the Gazelle has been supplemented as an attack helicopter by the larger
Eurocopter Tiger, but remains in use primarily as a scout helicopter.