Royal Australian Navy HMAS Ballarat and S-100 Camcopter UAV conduct flight trials.

The Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) Anzac Class frigate, HMAS Ballarat, and an S-100 Camcopter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) have conducted flight trials.

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The S-100 Camcopter being recovered on HMAS Ballarat's flight deck. (Picture source: Royal Australian Navy)

Two of Navy’s newest cutting-edge capabilities have combined, with the Anzac Class Frigate HMAS Ballarat embarking an S-100 Camcopter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for flight trials off the Eastern coast of Australia.

Personnel from Navy’s 822X Squadron and test specialists from the Aircraft Maintenance and Flight Trials Unit (AMAFTU) embarked Ballarat to collect data on how the 200 kilogram S-100 Camcopter UAV can launch and be retrieved at sea.

Trial Director, Lieutenant Commander Chris Broadbent, said the trials were an important part of learning how to combine the payload capacity of the S-100 Camcopter with the warfare capabilities of the 118-metre long Anzac Class Frigate.

Embarked in Ballarat, 822X Squadron Flight Commander, Lieutenant Michael Mulquiney, said the S-100 Camcopter could support surface, amphibious or anti-submarine warfare, as well as in search and rescue and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

The UAV can be deployed to support missions such as surface, amphibious or anti-submarine warfare. It could be used for search and rescue, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief operations.

822X Squadron commissioned in 2018 and is based at HMAS Albatross near Nowra.

Ballarat is one of eight Anzac Class Frigates in Navy’s fleet and is capable of long-range air defence, surface and undersea warfare, surveillance, reconnaissance and interdiction.