At Euronaval 2022, International Naval Defense Exhibition in Paris, France, the Austrian-based company Schiebel promotes the naval version of its CAMCOPTER® S-100 Unmanned Air System (UAS) which is now in service with several naval forces from all over the world.
Austrian company Schiebel displays the naval version of its Camcopter S-100 UAS Unmanned Aerial System at Euronaval 2022. (Picture source: Navy Recognition)
In October 2022, the Austrian Company Schiebel announced that the company was awarded the iSAR Research and Development program, which builds on the current CAMCOPTER® S-100 Unmanned Air System (UAS) with the aim of further developing its maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) capabilities, offering a higher level of automation.
The scope of this multi-million Euro contract includes the further development and delivery of the high-performance CAMCOPTER® S-100 UAS, including the integration of the latest high-tech sensors, allowing the detection and identification, both day and night, of castaways, drifting objects and polluting substances in the high seas; as well as monitoring toxic and hazardous atmospheres, emissions from ships and sea surface pollution. Furthermore, this project includes a data collection and distribution system combining information from the S-100 sensors, the manned AW139 and CN235 helicopters, as well as sensor data from two ships.
The S-100 system has over 30,000 flight hours of experience around the world from land bases and many different classes of ship. This unmanned aerial system (UAS) consists of one or more remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) and a ground control station (GCS) with associated antennae and interconnections necessary for RPA command and control.
The Schiebel S-100 Camcopter is a Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) UAS. It has a length of 3,110mm, main rotor diameter of 3,4 m, and a height of 1,10 m. The maximum take-off weight of the UAS is 200 kg, while the empty weight and payload capacities are 110 kg and 50 kg respectively. The UAS can carry 57 liters of fuel in the internal tanks and features an external fuel tank. It can be optionally fitted with a harpoon deck capture system for use with any Nato grid.
The Camcopter S-100 UAS is equipped with two payload bays and an auxiliary electronics bay. The stabilized day and night electro-optical / infra-red (EO / IR) sensors and thermal surveillance equipment help capture high-definition images, which are transmitted in real-time to the ground control station (GCS) via a line of sight data link with a 180 km range.
