Through a contract with the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), Schiebel’s CAMCOPTER S-100 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is supporting the Icelandic Coast Guard by delivering enhanced maritime situational awareness both day and night for an array of operational tasks.
Currently deployed from the patrol vessel ICGV Thor and from ICGV Freyja, the UAV is being operated by Schiebel to give the Icelandic Coast Guard the possibility of gaining better coverage of its large Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
The aircraft’s main task is being able to identify vessels and activities of interest at a much greater range than normal, thereby extending the ship’s situational awareness. The activities include fisheries inspection and control, maritime safety, ship and port security, environmental protection and response, as well as supporting Search and Rescue (SAR) when needed.
The S-100 executes these various tasks equipped with a Trakka TC-300 (and in future with an MX-10 Gen-4) Electro-Optical / Infra-Red (EO/IR) camera gimbal, an Overwatch Imaging PT-8 Oceanwatch wide area camera, a Becker Avionics BD406 Emergency Beacon Locator and an Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver.
“This operation is delivered as part of our ongoing service contracts with EMSA,” said Hans Georg Schiebel, Chairman of the Schiebel Group. “It is great to witness that ever more European maritime authorities are making use of the exceptional capabilities of the S-100. Especially in the maritime domain, the CAMCOPTER S-100 is demonstrating its solid level of performance and experience.”
