[Australian] Defence awarded Austrian company Schiebel a contract for the supply of its Camcopter S-100 System and three years of follow-on Contractor Logistics Support. The Commonwealth released an international Request for Tender (RfT) in late February 2016 for a UAS capability under Navy Minor Project 1942 (Maritime Tactical UAS – Interim Capability). According to Scheiebel, after thorough proposal evaluation and negotiations, the contract was signed at the end of December 2016. The Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) UAS needs no prepared area or supporting launch or recovery equipment and can operate day and night, under adverse weather conditions, with a range out to 200 kilometres, both on land and at sea. According to Schiebel, the S-100 navigates automatically via pre-programmed GPS waypoints or can be operated directly with a pilot control unit. Missions are planned and controlled via a simple point-and-click graphical user interface. High-definition payload imagery is transmitted to the control station in real time. Using “fly-by-wire” technology controlled by redundant flight computers, the UAV can complete its mission automatically in the most complex of electromagnetic environments. Its carbon fiber and titanium fuselage provides capacity for a wide […]

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