The French Navy has successfully completed a maritime capability test of the Schiebel-developed Camcopter S-100 unmanned air system (UAS) onboard the DCNS-built Gowind-class offshore patrol vessel (OPV) L’Adroit.
During the four-day flight trials, Camcopter performed 11 flights and 89 deck landings using a harpoon and demonstrated its ability to identify potential threats such as small boats using its electro-optical and infrared sensors.
The unmanned vehicle is capable of operating in any atmospheric conditions both on land and at sea, has a beyond line-of-sight capability of 200km, and does not require supporting launch or recovery equipment.
The UAS is used to conduct costal patrol, environmental protection and intelligence-gathering activities, and also supports drug enforcement, anti-piracy and search and rescue operations, as well as providing surveillance and reconnaissance capability onboard the ship.
