Schiebel, in collaboration with Thales as part of the SEACURE consortium, has secured a grant under the European Defence Fund’s initiative for unmanned systems focused on anti-submarine and seabed warfare.
The SEACURE (Seabed and Anti-Submarine Warfare Capability through Unmanned Technologies for Europe) group brings together 35 companies from 13 European nations. The project is dedicated to advancing combined Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) and Seabed Warfare (SBW) using unmanned aerial, surface, and underwater platforms to safeguard vital maritime infrastructure. Key objectives include the detection, classification, identification, and tracking of underwater threats in complex environments.
Schiebel’s CAMCOPTER® S-300 will be the designated Unmanned Aerial System for this venture. With a take-off weight of up to 700kg, the S-300 delivers impressive endurance, exceeding 24 hours with its camera and Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR), or around 6 hours with a 250kg payload. It stands as the first operational Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) system in its category to achieve these performance levels. The SEACURE project is expected to culminate in a major sea trial by 2028.
Hans Georg Schiebel, Chairman of the Schiebel Group, said, “We have been working successfully with Thales on various ASW solutions for the S-100 since our first participation at the NATO exercise REPMUS in 2022. Due to its longer endurance and higher payload capacity, the S-300 opens up a multitude of new possibilities for ASW and SBW. The SEACURE project aligns perfectly with our S-300 development roadmap and we’re proud to be part of such a significant project.”
