Camcopter S-100 VTOL UAS now operational from French Navy helicopter carrier.

French Admiral Vandier, chief of staff of the French Navy, tweeted on January 5 that PHA (Porte-Hélicoptères Amphibie, Amphibious Helicopter Carrier) « Tonnerre » can now operate the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 tactical drone system. This success is the result of cooperation between the crew, CEPA / 10S, DGA and manufacturers. It makes it possible to continue the rise in the use of drones by the French Navy.
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Schiebel Camcopter S-100 is now operational from PHA Tonnerre (Picture source: Twitter account of Admiral Vandier, French Navy)

According to information published on December 14, 2020, Naval Group, on behalf of the French Navy, accepted for operational use two more Schiebel Camcopter S-100 Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) on a total of four units. They are being deployed on the Mistral-class amphibious helicopter carriers (Porte-Hélicoptères Amphibie – PHA) Tonnerre and Mistral.

The successful integration of the Camcopter S-100 on the French Navy Mistral-class vessel Dixmude 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 2020 with representatives of Naval Group and the French Navy.

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.