The French Navy has obtained new Schiebel CAMCOPTER S-100 Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs) which will be deployed on the MISTRAL class amphibious helicopter carriers (Porte- Hélicoptères Amphibie – PHA) TONNERRE and MISTRAL.
The acquisition comes after the successful integration of the CAMCOPTER® S-100 on the French Navy MISTRAL class vessel DIXMUDE, which was finalised in 2019. This was the first time in Europe that a rotary wing UAV had been connected to the combat system of an amphibious helicopter carrier.
Over the next few months, the newly acquired CAMCOPTER® S-100 UAVs will be integrated onto the TONNERRE and the MISTRAL, significantly enhancing the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities of the ships.
The CAMCOPTER® S-100 VTOL UAS operates day and night and can carry multiple payloads up to a combined weight of 50 kg. Due to its minimal footprint, reliability and airworthiness pedigree, it is ideally suited for maritime operations around the globe.
Hans Georg Schiebel, Chairman of the Schiebel Group, said: “After the successful integration on the Dixmude, we are very proud of the confidence the French Navy has in the proven and reliable CAMCOPTER® S-100 and we are looking forward to the integration on the TONNERRE and MISTRAL and their operational deployment.”
Jack Richardson
