Royal Navy successfully operates Schiebel Camcopter S-100 UAS during NATO exercise


According to a PR published by Schiebel on October 24, 2022, together with Thales and sponsored by the UK Royal Navy, the firm participated in REPMUS (Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping using Maritime Uncrewed Systems) and Dynamic Messenger 2022 in Portugal.
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Russian Vyborg Shipyard laid the Purga ice class coastguard ship of project 23550 925 001 Camcopter S-100 Unmanned Air System (Picture source: Schiebel)


Together, we successfully demonstrated the CAMCOPTER® S-100 and its Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), and cargo delivery capabilities, which all received wide acclaim.

The successful operational capability demonstrations of the S-100 were part of a larger annual North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) exercise showcasing Unmanned Systems and how the very latest technological advancements can be incorporated into the platforms for real-world operational benefit.
Unmanned Air Systems have traditionally focused on delivering ISR, but now Schiebel, working with Thales, are developing an ASW capability, which was tested for the first time during this NATO exercise.

The demonstrated scenario was the surveillance and protection of the approaches to a strategic port. With a barrier of sonobuoys already laid, the S-100 equipped with a Wescam MX-8 EO/IR sensor in the nose and a Thales BlueScan® data relay sensor, was deployed to monitor the transmission of data from the sonobuoys and relayed it to the command cell ashore, permitting the detection and classification of possible enemy submarines.

The major NATO exercise also enabled the CAMCOPTER® S-100 to show its existing prowess completing ISR, Search and Rescue (SAR) and cargo delivery operations.

Equipped with an Overwatch Imaging PT-8 Oceanwatch and a Wescam MX-10, the S-100 showed how easily it could automatically detect and identify small objects at sea in various sea states, as a valuable part of ISR and SAR missions. With its suspended cargo delivery net, the CAMCOPTER® S-100 also successfully delivered medical supplies from the port to a ship nearby.