The Camcopter S-100 heavy-fuel unmanned aerial system (UAS) has completed acceptance trials with the Royal Australian Navy, the Austrian manufacturer of the system announced on March 9.
Schiebel said the series of test flight activities demonstrated the endurance, and maximum take off weight (MTOW) of a new engine with multiple payloads.
The Schiebel-designed heavy fuel S2 engine is envisioned as a next generation replacement for the current propulsion unit.
Throughout the tests, the S-100 was equipped with a L3 Harris Wescam MX-10 real-time electro-optical/infra-red (EO/IR) camera, an automatic identification system (AIS), a L3 Harris Bandit transceiver and a Mode-S automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B) transponder.
The new lightweight heavy fuel engine is initially cleared for JP-5 (F-44) and Jet-A1 fuels with other fuel types to be approved in future.
“Given the single fuel policy adopted by the world’s navies, we have responded to the requirement and have now developed, tested and produced our own Schiebel-designed heavy fuel engine for the S-100 system. We are thrilled to have successfully completed the acceptance activities of the new capability for the Royal Australian Navy,” said Hans Georg Schiebel, Chairman of the Schiebel Group.
S-100 has a maximum take off weight of 200 kilograms with a 50 kilogram payload. It reaches a maximum speed 80 knots and has an endurance of over five hours.
