Helicopter Drone To Assist in Search and Rescue Missions

Schiebel’s Camcopter S-100 has been selected by Norway’s Andoya Test Center for search and rescue trials as past of the Arctic 2030 project.

The Camcopter S-100 is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle capable of vertical take off and landing. The helicopter shaped drone was chosen for the project due to its international reputation with its accomplishments in the maritime domain. The UAV is capable of carrying multiple payloads while still having a battery strength of six hours of operation. Because of this the drone can offer aerial views that are much more cost effective and convenient than a traditional manned helicopter.

The point of the Andoy project is to demonstrate the use of vertical take off and landing UAVs in the arctic region mainly for search and rescue missions, but also to generally increase maritime safety. Uasvision.com mentions that the Camcopter will be equipped with an Electro-Optical/Infra-Red camera gimbal, an Overwatch Imaging PT-8 Oceanwatch payload, an Automatic Identification System receiver, and a Maritime Broadband Radio. All these attachments are intended to increase emergency preparedness and to provide additional search and rescue support.

Along with the mentioned attachments, the S-100 offers a number of benefits for naval operations in the cold north. Aside from being small enough to easily land and take off from small vessels, the S-100 can also perform in the harshest weather conditions, being able to fly in temperatures as cold as -40 degrees fahrenheit. This feature has been proven several times in the past with the UAV.

“The Camcopter S-100 has performed a series of challenging demonstration flights in the Arctic over the years and has proven its operational value and mission effectiveness,” said Hans Georg Schiebel, Chairman of the Schiebel Group.

The Camcopter S-100 is scheduled to begin testing in the fall of 2019, with another series of tests planned for the spring of 2020.