SOURCE: AFI
The Indian Navy is currently exploring the potential of the CAMCOPTER S-100 rotary unmanned aerial system (UAS) for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
The CAMCOPTER S-100 is a revolutionary UAS developed, designed, and produced by Schiebel, a renowned Austrian company founded in 1951. With a global presence spanning Vienna and Wiener Neustadt (Austria), Manassas (USA), Abu Dhabi (UAE), Shoalhaven (Australia), and Hyderabad (India), Schiebel has carved a niche for itself in the production of high-tech military, commercial, and humanitarian solutions.
The Indian Navy’s CAMCOPTER S-100 program fosters a unique collaboration between Austrian and Indian industries. Schiebel partners with VEM Technologies, an Indian production partner, to license-produce the unmanned system within India. This initiative aims to create a comprehensive ecosystem for rotary unmanned systems, ensuring long-term technological expertise for effective utilization.pen_spark
The MoD and the Indian Navy are expected to complete evaluations of platforms bidding for the NSUAS programme by March 2023. As part of an earlier procurement programme, the Indian Navy has trialled the S-100.
CAMCOPTER S-100 is a proven capability for military and civilian applications. The Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) UAS needs no prepared area or supporting launch or recovery equipment. It operates day and night, under adverse weather conditions, with a range out to 200 km, both on land and at sea. 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 range of payload / endurance combinations.