Schiebel, together with Thales and sponsored by the U.K. Royal Navy participated in REPMUS (Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping using Maritime Uncrewed Systems) and Dynamic Messenger 2022 in Portugal. Together, the companies 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 Organization (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, is 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.

Hans Georg Schiebel, chairman of the Schiebel Group, said: “It was an honor to participate in this year’s NATO’s exercise in Portugal. Together with Thales and the U.K. Royal Navy, we successfully completed numerous flight trials of the S-100, showcasing a variety of impressive capabilities. I am very proud to be able to state that with several hundred thousand flight hours under its belt, the Camcopter S-100 is the only established and operationally proven UAV of its class.”

This press release was prepared and distributed by Schiebel.