Schiebel to deliver 4 Camcopter S-100 UAVs to French Navy via Naval Group.

According to information published on December 14, 2020, Naval Group, on behalf of the French Navy, has accepted for operational use two further CAMCOPTER® S-100 Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) with a total of four Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs). They will be deployed on the Mistral-class amphibious helicopter carriers (PorteHélicoptères Amphibie – PHA) Tonnerre and Mistral.
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S-100 Camcopter unmanned aerial vehicle on French Navy Mistral-class vessel Dixmude during qualification test by the French Army Procurement agency DGA. (Picture source DGA)

The acquisition comes after the successful integration of the CAMCOPTER® S-100 on the French Navy Mistral-class vessel Dixmude, which was finalised in 2019. This was the first time in Europe, that a rotary-wing UAS had been connected to the combat system of an amphibious helicopter carrier.

The acceptance tests of the two systems took place in the last week of October with representatives of Naval Group and the French Navy in attendance.

Over the next few months the newly acquired CAMCOPTER® S-100 UAS will be integrated on the French Navy’s vessels Tonnerre and Mistral, significantly enhancing the helicopter carrier’s Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.

The CAMCOPTER® S-100 VTOL UAS operates day and night and can carry multiple payloads up to a combined weight of 50 kg. Due to its minimal footprint, reliability and airworthiness pedigree, it is ideally suited for maritime operations around the globe.

Hans Georg Schiebel, Chairman of the Schiebel Group, said: “After the successful integration on the Dixmude, we are very proud of the confidence the French Navy has in the proven and reliable CAMCOPTER® S-100 and we are looking forward to the integration on the Tonnerre and Mistral and their operational deployment.”

LCDR Serge D., UAS program officer, French Navy: “The S-100 on Mistral-class will be the first operational tactical UAS for the French Navy and this is a major step towards the Mercator plan.”

Porte Hélicoptère Amphibie Maintenance Architect at Naval Group, Philippe V., said: “We participated in the successful factory acceptance test, which was an important milestone for this acquisition, prior to the global integration onboard conducted by Naval Group.”

The Mistral is a class of five amphibious assault ships, also known as a helicopter carrier in service with the French and Egyptian Navies. The ship is capable of transporting and deploying 16 NH90 or Tiger helicopters, four landing barges, up to 70 vehicles including light combat vehicles and main battle tanks, and 450 soldiers. The ship is equipped with a 69-bed hospital, and are capable of serving as part of a NATO Response Force, or with United Nations or European Union peace-keeping forces.

The four new Schiebel S-100 Camcopter UAVs for the French Navy (Picture source Shiebel)