Summary
This invited describes the Tasman International Geospace Environment Radar (TIGER). The TIGER concept is to have two radars concept is to have two HF ionospheric radars operating at oblique incidence, with intersecting footprints covering the auroral and sub-auroral ionospheres south of Australia and New Zealand. TIGER will be part of the expanding Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) developed by scientists from several different countries to study the high latitude ionosphere in each hemisphere. One of the main features of SuperDARN is the ability to map ionospheric convection, an important space weather system that plays a dominating role in the high latitude ionosphere. TIGER is at lower geomagnetic latitude than other SuperDARN radars and as a consequence will, for the first time, extend the SuperDARN technique routinely to the sub-auroral region of the plasmapause and ionospheric trough. TIGER is being developed by a consortium of Australian universities, government departments and industry. The first radar has been established on Bruny Island, Tasmania and is now operational. This paper presents an overview of the TIGER project by briefly describing: the solar wind interaction with the Earths magnetosphere and ionosphere; ionospheric propagation and the features that make HF radar an excellent technique for studying the high-latitude ionosphere; characteristics of the TIGER radar and some initial observations; and features of the TIGER research program.