Three stages of French DGA trials successfully completed by Schiebel's Camcopter S-100 UAS

15th June 2010 - 13:29 GMT | by The Shephard News Team

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The French DGA has already completed three of the four flight trial phases involving the Schiebel CAMCOPTER S-100 Unmanned VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing) Helicopter capability.

In December 2009 Schiebel signed a contract with the French Direction Générale de l Armement (DGA) for the lease of its unrivalled and in production CAMCOPTER S-100 Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) to assess the advantages of a VTOL UAS and has so far successfully accomplished three of the four experimental trials. Fitted with the Thales Optronics Agile 2 Electro
Optical and Infra Red (EO/IR) sensor, the first trials took place in the military camp of Canjuers in the South of France.

The second phase was carried out in Sissonne near Reims, again on a military range and included the participation in a French Army exercise. The S-100 supported the troops on the ground with great success and received specific acclaim. In the third phase the CAMCOPTER S-100 was tested under very hot and dry conditions.

We are extremely pleased with the success we have achieved so far and very much appreciate the good cooperation and working relationship we have established with the DGA says Mr. Constantin Zahir, Programme Manager for Schiebel.

In the coming weeks, with the continuing support of Thales Aeronautical Systems who are responsible for flight and frequency permits, further trials will be conducted under the contract in a mixture of both land and coastal operations, day and night, by French Army and Navy in France.

Schiebel´s CAMCOPTER S-100 UAS is a proven civil and military capability for a wide range of purposes and does not require any supporting launch or recovery equipment. The S-100 can perform under adverse weather conditions, on land and at sea.

Source: Schiebel