Schiebel Camcopter S-100 and Nordic Unmanned carry out world’s first full-scale offshore UAV flight.

Schiebel, together with partner Nordic Unmanned, successfully demonstrated to Norwegian energy company Equinor the cargo delivery capability of its Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Camcopter S-100 to offshore platform Troll A. This is a world’s first in terms of full-scale offshore UAV delivery from shore to an active oil and gas installation.

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Camcopter S-100 (Picture source: Schiebel)

The exercise simulated the scenario of an urgent requirement for specific essential spare parts at the gas production platform Troll A. The Camcopter S-100 successfully carried out the long-range delivery flight from Mongstad, where the spare parts were 3D-printed, to the offshore platform Troll A located in the North Sea. The unmanned delivery distance was 100 km (55 nm). After the UAV supplied the spare parts, it carried out a close inspection around the platform before it headed back to Mongstad.

The flight trials also included a successful Search and Rescue (SAR) mission, where a “man over board” dummy was quickly located by the UAV, transmitting the positioning data and live images using the L3 Harris Wescam real-time Electro-Optical/Infra-Red (EO/IR) camera and an Automatic Identification System (AIS).

Hans Georg Schiebel, Chairman of the Schiebel Group, said: “This was the perfect trial to show off the exceptional maritime capabilities of the S-100 for the oil and gas industry. We have extensive experience in long-range unmanned flights, especially in the maritime domain and under adverse weather conditions. The S-100 was able to show off its outstanding capabilities and we have proven once again that the S-100 UAV is the superior choice.”