The Camcopter S-100 at the Paris Air Show 2009.

17:49 GMT, December 1, 2009 Vienna - Paris | Following the success with the first UAS ever to fly at the Paris Air Show in June 2009, Schiebel has now won a contract with the Direction générale de l’armement (DGA).

The CAMCOPTER S-100 will be leased for a selection of comprehensive experimental trials in France by the French Army at a military camp, during a military exercise, as well as two weeks of demanding trials at a non European location, and on behalf of the French Navy at a Navy base. The trials will take place during the first half of 2010.

The Goal of these trials is it to assess the advantages of a VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing). In order to fulfill the DGA’s requirements, Schiebel has sub-contracted Thales Aeronautical Systems to assist them with the arrangement and organization of the flight and frequency permits. The main payload for these trials will be the Thales Optronics Agile 2 Electro Optical and Infra Red (EO/IR) sensor.

Schiebel’s CAMCOPTER S-100 Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) 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 beyond line-of-sight capability out to 200km, both on land and at sea. The S-100 navigates via pre-programmed GPS waypoints or is operated with a Pilot Control Unit. Missions are planned and controlled via simple point-and-click graphical user interface and high definition payload imagery is transmitted to the control station in real-time. Using "fly-by-wire" technology controlled by a triple-redundant flight computer, the AV can complete its mission automatically. Its carbon fibre and titanium fuselage provides capacity for a wide range of payload/endurance combinations up to a service ceiling of 18,000 ft and, in the standard AV configuration, carries a 75 lbs payload for over 6 hours.


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