S-100 Camcopter

The Schiebel Camcopter S-100 is an unmanned rotorcraft produced by the Austrian company Schiebel. Developed between 2003 and 2005, it is used primarily for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, with an emphasis on shipborne operations from frigates, corvettes and patrol vessels. It has been ordered by more than twenty military and civil operators, and serves with the Royal Navy under the name Peregrine.

Development

Schiebel developed the S-100 from 2003 to 2005. The launch customer was the UAE Army, which ordered 40 aircraft with an option for 40 more; three further undisclosed nations brought total orders to 200. On 12 March 2012 Schiebel announced successful testing of a company-developed heavy-fuel engine, allowing operation on JP-5, Jet A-1 or JP-8. On 7 February 2013 the company flight tested the Thales I-Master radar at its Wiener Neustadt facility. A Russian licence-built version, the Gorizont (Horizon) Air S-100, was tested aboard the Coast Guard cutter Rubin in November 2011.

Design

The airframe is 3.11 m long with a 3.4 m main rotor, an empty weight of 110 kg and a maximum take-off weight of 200 kg. Power comes from a 41 kW (55 hp) Schiebel S1 Wankel engine, with the heavy-fuel S2 Wankel available as an option; fuel capacity is 57 litres of AVGAS 100LL. Maximum speed is 220 km/h, cruise speed 190 km/h, range 180 km, service ceiling 5,500 m and endurance six hours, extendable beyond ten hours with external AVGAS tanks. Payload capacity is 50 kg, typically electro-optical and infrared sensors such as the L3Harris Wescam MX-10, or the 30 kg Thales I-Master radar providing ground moving target indication and synthetic-aperture radar. The primary data link occupies the 5030–5091 MHz band, with a secondary UHF link between 433.2125 and 434.4625 MHz.

Armament

The S-100 has two hardpoints. Published armament consists of two Lightweight Multirole Missiles.

Operational History

Sea trials began aboard INS Sujata in October 2007, followed by tests from a Pakistan Navy Tariq-class destroyer in March 2008 and the Spanish Guardia Civil vessel Rio Miño in April 2008. German Navy trials aboard the corvettes Braunschweig and Magdeburg in August–September 2008 comprised over 130 take-offs with unaided deck stability beyond 15° of roll. Libya ordered four in 2009 for the Khamis Brigade, Jordan two in July 2010, and the Chinese Navy 18 systems in 2010. The Italian Navy selected the type in February 2014, assigning it to 4° Gruppo Elicotteri at Grottaglie. The Royal Australian Navy contracted for systems in February 2017 for 822X Squadron, and the Royal Navy selected it in early 2023 as Peregrine, flying sorties from HMS Lancaster in the Gulf of Oman by February 2025. Canada ordered two systems with options for four more in August 2025; Greece ordered four systems (eight aircraft) in February 2026. Losses include a fatal crash at Incheon on 10 May 2012, a US-operated aircraft downed in Somalia on 28 May 2013, and a UAE aircraft shot down over Yemen on 25 August 2015.

Variants

• Camcopter S-100: Baseline production aircraft powered by the 41 kW Schiebel S1 Wankel engine.
• S-100 heavy fuel: Variant fitted with the Schiebel S2 Wankel engine burning JP-5, JP-8 or Jet A-1.
• Gorizont (Horizon) Air S-100: Russian licence-built version operated by the Russian Coast Guard and armed forces.
• Peregrine: Royal Navy configuration equipped with the Thales I-Master radar and additional sensors.