Vienna, 25 September 2024 – The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) contracted Schiebel to support multi-purpose maritime operations with its Unmanned Air System (UAS) CAMCOPTER® S-100 in La Manche and the southern section of the North Sea.
The operation aimed to assist the maritime authorities of Belgium and France across a variety of coast guard functions including emission monitoring. Stationed at the Gris-Nez Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in the Pas-de-Calais Department of France, the S-100 supported on request both participating countries within an airspace validated by the civil aviation authority depending on the areas flown over. The UAS provided enhanced support for maritime safety, search and rescue, maritime surveillance, environmental protection and maritime accident and disaster response.
The operationally mature S-100 executed these tasks equipped with multiple sensors, a Trakka TC-300 EO/IR sensor, an Explicit Mini Sniffer for emission monitoring, a Becker Avionics BD406 Emergency Beacon Locator, an Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver and a Mode-S Transponder ADSB out.
“We have been supporting EMSA since 2018. The CAMCOPTER® also helped in several search and rescue operations. The S-100 saves valuable response time and enables a quick and efficient way of scanning large areas even for very small objects and anomalies at sea,” said Hans Georg Schiebel, Chairman of the Schiebel Group.
About Schiebel:
Founded in 1951 in Vienna, the globally operating Schiebel 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. Schiebel has facilities in Vienna and Wiener Neustadt (Austria), Toulon (France), Manassas, VA (USA), Abu Dhabi (UAE), and Shoalhaven (Australia).
About the CAMCOPTER® S-100:
Schiebel’s CAMCOPTER® S-100 Unmanned Air System (UAS) is an operationally proven capability for military and civilian applications. 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. Its carbon fiber 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. 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.