Camcopter in Finnish maritime trials
Schiebel’s Camcopter S-100 VTOL UAS has carried out a five-day maritime surveillance demonstration aboard offshore patrol vessel (OPV) Turva for the Border and Coast Guard Division of the Finnish Border Guard.
The flight trials took place at the end of August in the Gulf of Finland. The S-100 completed a number of scenarios including searching, locating and recognising objects as well as surveillance for situational awareness.
The testing was part of the ongoing Valvonta2 -project (Surveillance2) that is lead by Finnish Border Guard and funded by European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.
The S-100 was equipped with the L3Harris Wescam MX-10 EO/IR camera, the Overwatch Imaging PT-8 Oceanwatch wide-area maritime surveillance payload and an Automatic Identification System receiver.
Hans Georg Schiebel, chairman of the Schiebel group, said: ‘As we have seen during the trials, maritime ISR and search operations can derive significant benefits from the use of UAS. As a robust VTOL platform, the Camcopter does not require any additional take-off or recovery equipment, which makes it perfect for OPVs with small deck sizes. We are very pleased with the outcome of the trials and hope to be back in Finland soon.’
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