Exclusive Interview: Schiebel’s Neil Hunter What the S-100 UAV Could Do for the Navy

The purchase of FDI HN frigates for the Navy marks the beginning of the process of renewal of major surface units, while at the same time introducing new technologies and capabilities, such as active phased array radars, long-range anti-aircraft missiles, etc. However, in the purchase contract there is perhaps a not very prominent, but certainly important addition, Infrastructure to support VTOL UAS operations;

We spoke with Neil Hunter, Global Head of Business Development for Austrian company Schiebel, which specializes in the development and production of VTOL UAS, and its flagship product is camcopter s-100, Which we also saw at the DEFEA 2023 defense exhibition.

Mr Hunter served for 20 years in the British Navy, as a warship captain and as a helicopter pilot with over 2,000 flying hours. For the past 15 years, he has been active in the field of drone development and production, holding important positions in groups such as IRIS Group, UMS Group, Babcock Aerospace and of course Schiebel.

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So, as Neil Hunter told us, the S-100 is probably the most widespread unmanned helicopter of its class, with over 400 aircraft in service, and 100,000 flight hours completed, for over 30 different customers, mostly military applications and a small but growing portion. Halberd for civilian use. The system also measures more than 2,000 different recordings, ranging from the decks of small fishing boats carrying irregular migrants to the decks of helicopter carriers.

The space required to operate the S-100 on board the ship is 10×10 square metres, however there have been search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean where the S-100 has successfully responded from much smaller take-off areas.

The primary tasks of the S-100 are:Triple ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, i.e. information, surveillance and recognition) As usually mentioned, The Navy will never have enough funds to cover the required number of manned vehicles. “We do reconnaissance, surveillance and reconnaissance Placement of a large infrared electro-optical camera to Mr Ventral cargo hold of the aircraft. After all, one of the main advantages of the S-100 Is that it can carry up to 50kg, which can be divided into different loads. For example, Photovoltaic system Mix-10 of them to3 Harris It weighs about 20 kilograms.”

One of the advantages of the S-100 is that it has several points for adding mission packages, sideways, ventral or at the front, making it possible to combine, for example, floating cameras, radar, lidar, fuel tanks or even search and rescue mission packages. .

What distinguishes the S-100 from its competitors? “Two points, reliability and flexibility in different payloads. Reliability can only be learned the hard way, i.e. flying long hours. Of course we also have accidents over time, but we get rid of them ( s-100) 15 years later and in the drone world, you only learn by putting in the flight hours. Regarding flexibility, It can carry different payloads at the same time, so maybe some of our competitors are a bit limited and haven’t built enough sensors or mounting points.

The Greek dimension of the S-100 system

The Greek perspective for acquiring VTOL UAS is not as small as beyond FDI HN, and perhaps more systems will be needed if it is decided to acquire corvettes and perhaps also for upgraded MEKOs. Also, needs may arise through the acquisition of used vessels and also by the Coast Guard, which is looking to purchase open sea patrol boats.

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The S-100 aircraft conducted tests in 2021 on the Aegeon frigate, at the invitation of the Navy, in order to investigate the possibility of operations from the ships’ helicopter platforms. “There we were able to prove his full potential s-100, during a flight that took six hours, while we were able to reach a range of up to 100 kilometers. We responded to what was requested by the Hellenic Navy, a system that can perform a specific set of missions with a specific endurance and a specific performance. I’d say we’ve been waiting for it to request to Information “We initially hoped to have a contract in 2022. But I know that Royal Air is talking to the French, the British and other companies from the European Union. We haven’t had another flight test in Greece since then.”

In 2021, the S-100 that came for testing is the S1-engined version that uses AVGAS 100LL fuel, which raises some concerns given that manned helicopters used by PN use JP-5 fuel. We have confirmed that the S-100 offered for PN is the heavy-fuel version with another engine, the S2, It is ready and has already been acquired by the first customer, the Australian Navy, while the British Navy has also made a similar move. In addition, a large contract is in progress with the European Maritime Safety Agency for the use of the S-100 system with the S2 engine.

Regarding prospects for co-production and Greek participation, the company is positive if there is similar demand. “Ten years ago no one was really asking for co-production or technology transfer, but now every country is looking for it.” Mr. Hunter told us. Obviously, if only three to four systems are ordered, they cannot be produced locally. Regardless, Schiebel is in discussions and has almost settled with a Greek company that will handle the MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Operations) part.

In addition, if the Royal Navy wishes, it can place some Greek cargo that meets specifications for weight, power, etc., such as a photovoltaic tower.

Naturally, the discussion inevitably turned to the possibility of placing weapons on the S-100 system, also on the occasion of the war in Ukraine, where drones perform many target attack missions. Here it is as we were told It has not been ruled out The S-100 is armed in Greece“, But it was not possible to do this at the company’s headquarters in Austria due to the country’s political neutrality. But as more and more users are interested in something similar (the aircraft also appeared at a defense exhibition with a load of Thales Light LMM missiles), such as the British Navy, a formula can be found for use. After all, Schieble has offices in the USA, the Middle East and Australia.

Schieble Designs

Since drone action on the battlefield is a first-rate “scary” advertisement for its capabilities, we spoke to Neil Hunter about the company’s future plans. One of the main issues that has arisen is the need for light airborne jammers and of course anti-jamming systems so that any mission can be carried out smoothly.

We’ve learned how The S-100 system operated in Ukraine, in the Donetsk region, specifically on behalf of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, By the Canadian company MDA, and that the Russians learned of the matter and immediately began to intervene. “We partnered with a Canadian company called Novatel We were able to add protection against its intrusions Global Positioning SystemWhich means we can keep flying. So we already have knowledge about Anti-jamming. But the British Navy is also looking for jamming equipment, so we started too. We are in preliminary discussions with her Thales About how we can place the equipment Electronic warfare In the s-100. BOf course we can’t do everything, but I think it should be a feature we offer in the future, perhaps working with a big program and partner.

Schiebel is also designing a much larger version, e.g s-300, Three times larger than the S-100. With a take-off weight of 660 kg and a payload of up to 250 kg, the S-300 is capable of responding to a much wider range of missions. “The maximum flight duration would be 24 hours with a payload of 50 kg, but in six hours of flight, we can put on 250 kg. We have reached the point where we have what we call iron birdwhich means we have the engine, we have the gearbox, we have the rotor, and if all goes well, we’ll be flying by the end of the year, with Possibility of entering the market in 2025. The new vehicle will be able to use exactly the same ground station, and the same infrastructure that we have for it s-100, so we plan to use same data connection, and other infrastructure. So you can throw it away s-100 in the morning then throw it away s-300 in the afternoon, that’s kind of it Concept (Concept to Operations) which we are working on. It will of course require different software, but one of our strengths is all the software we have built over the past 15 years, and that we are working with. s-100.”

Cost estimation

In the end, we kept the question of cost, which is difficult to answer for competitive reasons, but also because it depends on exactly what you order, in what configuration, with follow-up support, alternative shipping loads, etc.

“The problem we always have with this particular question is…

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