Unmanned Rotorcraft Can Fly Autonomous Missions

The Boeing Company and Schiebel Industries AG of Austria said Tuesday they have signed a teaming agreement to pursue marketing and support opportunities for Schiebel's CAMCOPTER S-100.

The S-100 is a compact unmanned aerial vehicle that provides a platform for a wide variety of payloads, including a stabilized video system for surveillance and reconnaissance.

"This teaming agreement allows us to offer another quality unmanned airborne platform to customers who depend on the intelligence these aircraft can provide," said Vic Sweberg, director of Boeing Unmanned Airborne Systems (UAS). "It will further enable our new division to deliver innovative solutions tailored to our customers' needs and budgets."

The S-100, is an autonomous helicopter that uses vertical takeoff and landing technology. The aircraft can be programmed to fly autonomous missions via a point-and-click computer software interface, or be directed manually with a joystick. It also can operate under adverse weather conditions and beyond line-of-sight on land and at sea. Its data link range extends up to 200 km, with a service ceiling of 18,000 feet.

"We are excited about teaming with Boeing's newly created Unmanned Airborne Systems division," said Hans G. Schiebel, director of Schiebel Industries AG. "Through this collaboration, we hope to leverage Boeing's depth of experience and proven contacts to provide the S-100 to U.S. government and military customers. The CAMCOPTER S-100 could have applications for a variety of civilian customers, as well."

Photo Courtesy Scheibel

Darren Sekiguchi, director of Boeing Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance Services, said that CAMCOPTER S-100 users "will benefit from Boeing's experience in supporting unmanned airborne systems. Our field service representatives have collectively flown more than 200,000 hours while providing command and logistics support to a variety of unmanned airborne systems programs."

FMI: www.boeing.com