Schiebel’s Camcopter S-100 anti-submarine warfare capability: A vertical take-off and landing drone produced by Austrian drone manufacturer Schiebel demonstrated its anti-submarine warfare (ASW), intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and cargo delivery capabilities in a military exercise conducted by North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Vienna based drone manufacturer Schiebel joined hands with French defence technology firm Thales to participate in Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping using Maritime Uncrewed Systems (REPMUS ) and Dynamic Messenger 2022 military exercise in Portugal. The participation in the exercise was sponsored by British Royal Navy.
In a statement, Schiebel said it successfully demonstrated the Camcopter S-100’s anti-submarine warfare (asw), intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and cargo delivery capabilities.
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.
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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.
Austrian UAS manufacturer Schiebel participated in Defence Expo 2022.
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Hans Georg Schiebel, Chairman of the Schiebel Group, said the company successfully completed numerous flight trials of the S-100 in cooperation with Thales and UK Royal Navy, showcasing a variety of impressive capabilities.
“With several hundred thousand flight hours under its belt, the Camcopter S-100 is the only established and operationally proven UAV of its class,” Hans Georg Schiebel said in the statement.
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Austrian drone manufacturer Schiebel
Schiebel was founded in 1951 in Vienna, Austria and the group focuses on the development, design and production of the revolutionary Camcopter S-100 Unmanned Air System (UAS).
Certified to meet AS/EN 9100 standards, Schiebel has built an international reputation for producing high-tech military, commercial and humanitarian products, which are backed by exceptional after-sales service and support.
The Austrian drone manufacturer Schiebel has facilities in Vienna and Wiener Neustadt in the country, Manassas, VA (USA), Abu Dhabi (UAE), and Shoalhaven (Australia).
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Schiebel’s Camcopter S-100 undergoing evaluation by the US Navy.
Shiebel’s Camcopter S-100 UAS
Schiebel’s Camcopter S-100 Unmanned Air System (UAS) is targeted at both military and civilian applications.
According to the company, the Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) UAS requires no prepared area or supporting equipment to enable launch and recovery. It operates by day and by night, under adverse weather conditions, with a beyond line-of-sight capability out to 200 km / 108 nm, over land and sea.
Camcopter S-100’s carbon fibre and titanium fuselage provides capacity for a wide range of payload/endurance combinations up to a service ceiling of 5,500 m / 18,000 ft.
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In a typical configuration, the Camcopter S-100 carries a 34-kg / 75-lbs payload up to 10 hours and is powered with AVGas or JP-5 heavy fuel. High-definition payload imagery is transmitted to the control station in real time.
In addition to its standard GPS waypoint or manual navigation, the S-100 can successfully operate in environments where GPS is not available, with missions planned and controlled via a simple point-and-click graphical user interface. The high-tech unmanned helicopter is backed by Schiebel’s excellent customer support and training services.
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