Schiebel’s CAMCOPTER S-100 has completed its toughest test to date. Three weeks of demanding flights in the Baltic Sea onboard the new K130 Class Corvettes of the German Navy were undertaken. The German Navy is hoping to fill their ISTAR platform gap with Unmanned Air Vehicle Systems (UAS) in their future Force Mix. These trials were to substantiate the integration and operation of Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) UAS and to formulate the Concept of Operations (CONOPS) for employing this particular UAS. The CAMCOPTER S-100 has a Maximum Take Off Weight (MTOW) of 200 kg, can carry 50 kg of payloads and, with an operating radius of 180 km, provides endurance in excess of 6 hours.
Three, one-week campaigns took place during the summer of 2008 in the Baltic Sea. The campaigns proceeded exactly as planned without incident of note, the test parameters were extended beyond the original requirements. The campaigns were an impressive success for both the German Navy and Schiebel. The CAMCOPTER S-100 completed more than 130 takeoffs in a total flight time for more than 200 hours, landings from the “single spot” corvettes with relative winds from all possible directions (ahead and abaft the beam). The relative wind speeds were as high as 40 knots over the flight deck, at more than 8° roll angle of the K130 Class Corvette and MTOWs in excess of 190 kg. Plus, the UAS withstood roll angles of the flight deck in excess of ± 15 degrees, even with a wet flight deck at times.
