The Finnish Border Guard is once again operating the CAMCOPTER® S-100 for implementing coast guard functions in the Baltic Sea. The Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) service is offered by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).
Based at a coast guard station in Hanko, Finland, the CAMCOPTER® S-100 is supporting the Finnish authorities in carrying out Coast Guard functions, such as:
- maritime border surveillance
- search and rescue
- monitoring and surveillance
- ship and port security
- vessel traffic monitoring
- environmental protection and response
- ship casualty assistance
- accident and disaster response
The information collected in the Baltic Sea from the on-board RPAS system is shared in parallel with multiple Member States, allowing for a common maritime picture and more comprehensive coordination. The operations will continue until end of July.
The S-100 will execute these tasks equipped with:
- an L3 Wescam Electro-Optical / Infra-Red (EO/IR) camera gimbal
- an Overwatch Imaging PT-8 Oceanwatch
- a Becker Avionics BD406 Emergency Beacon Locator
- an Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver
This deployment comes on top of two other CAMCOPTER® S-100 operations for EMSA currently being carried out in Estonia and Romania conducting maritime surveillance. It is also the third deployment for the Finnish Border Guard, after a trial in 2019.
Jack Richardson
