“I am Perpetual, I Keep the Country Clean” —Rob Halford
The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) has entered into an agreement with Schiebel, the Austrian manufacturer of mine-detectors and rotary-wing Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs), by which the latter’s Camcopter S-100 UAS will conduct emission-monitoring and maritime-surveillance operations in northern France. Subject missions will be carried out on behalf of the General Directorate of Maritime Affairs, Fishery, and Aquaculture (DGAMPA).
Stationed at CROSS (Centre Régional Opérationnel de Surveillance et de Sauvetage) Gris-Nez, one of seven surveillance facilities maintained by the French maritime affairs administration, the Camcopter S-100 will support French emission monitoring and maritime safety efforts, including environmental protection and response, fisheries inspection, Search and Rescue (SAR), as well as control of all relevant vessels passing through the English Channel.
CROSS Gris-Nez is the northern French Regional Center for Surveillance and Rescue at Sea and is responsible for the duties of the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) on the Français side of the English Channel.
To better execute the missions with which it’s been tasked, Schiebel’s S-100 is equipped with a Trakka TC-300 EO/IR (Electro-Optical/InfraRed) sensor, a Mini Sniffer emission-detector produced by Danish tech firm Explicit, a Becker Avionics BD406 Emergency Beacon Locator, an Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver, and a Mode-S Transponder with ADS-B out.
Schiebel Group chairman Hans Georg Schiebel stated: “This area of sea is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, where 24/7 monitoring of all maritime activities is essential. Schiebel’s S-100 has supported numerous maritime authorities to date, with EMSA being one of our most prestigious customers.”
Schiebel’s Camcopter S-100 Unmanned Air System (UAS) is a relatively large, all-weather, day-and-night, unmanned rotorcraft in broad use with worldwide civilian and military operators. The machine is powered by a 55-horsepower, Austro AE50R Wankel (rotary) engine that turns a single, 3.4-meter (11-foot 2-inch) main-rotor with sufficient vigor to motivate the contraption’s titanium and carbon-fiber fuselage to speeds and altitudes as high as 120-knots and FL180 respectively.
Notwithstanding its maximum gross takeoff weight (MGTOW) of two-hundred-kilograms (441-pounds), the S-100 typically carries a 75-pound payload for up to ten-hours on a 57-liter tank of either 100-LL Avgas or JP-5.
Camcopter operators guide the UAS via high-definition imagery transmitted to a ground-based control station in real-time. In addition to standard GPS waypoint or manual navigation, the S-100 is capable of operating in non-GPS environments by dint of a simple, point-and-click graphical user interface.
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