Schiebel demos unmanned helicopter for South Africans

VIENNA, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- An unmanned helicopter from an Austrian technology company has demonstrated its capabilities in maritime operations in South Africa.

Schiebel said its Camcopter S-100 unmanned aerial system successfully completed the flight trials off the South African coast this month for the South African Navy and other government agencies from the deck of the SAS Protea, a Hecla-class deep ocean hydrographic survey vessel of the South African Navy.

The unmanned helicopter, while carrying a Selex ES SAGE Electronic Support Measure system payload, automatically took off and landed from the ship and conducted its surveillance operations in turbulent conditions, such as head and cross winds of more than 25 knots.

The Camcopter S-100 features a carbon fiber and titanium fuselage and an integrated GPS-independent positioning system. It has a maximum speed of 138 miles per hour, a range of about more than 150 miles and a flight endurance of about six hours.

The S-100 navigates via pre-programmed GPS waypoints or is operated with a point-and-click operator control unit. Imagery collected is transmitted to a control station in real time.