An unmanned helicopter from Austrian technology company Schiebel has demonstrated its capabilities in maritime operations in South Africa.
Schiebel announced its Camcopter S-100 unmanned aerial system successfully completed the flight trials off the South African coast this month for the South African Navy and other government agencies from the deck of the SAS Protea, a Hecla-class deep ocean hydrographic survey vessel of the South African Navy.
The unmanned helicopter, while carrying a Selex ES SAGE Electronic Support Measure system payload, automatically took-off and landed from the ship and conducted its surveillance operations in turbulent conditions, such as head and cross winds of more than 25kts.
The Camcopter S-100 features a carbon fiber and titanium fuselage and an integrated GPS-independent positioning system. It has a maximum speed of 138mph, a range of more than 150 miles and a flight endurance of approximately six hours.
The S-100 navigates via pre-programmed GPS waypoints or is operated with a point-and-click operator control unit. Imagery collected is transmitted to a control station in real time.
October 30, 2015
