The S-100: shipborne VTOL ISR, proven at sea
The Schiebel CAMCOPTER S-100 is the most widely fielded shipborne VTOL UAS in its class: a 200 kg rotary-wing aircraft carrying up to 50 kg of sensors for roughly six hours, or beyond ten with extended fuel, with no launch or recovery equipment required. The fleet has logged over 100,000 operating hours and more than 2,000 deck landings on single-spot vessels, flying for navies and coast guards worldwide, including years of sustained maritime-surveillance service across European waters.
AIMS-ISR on the S-100: selected, fielded, operational
Schiebel selected CarteNav AIMS-ISR for the S-100 under its Royal Australian Navy contract in 2017, providing multi-sensor integration, cross-cueing, mission planning and review, and a geo-referenced operating picture. Schiebel’s CTO cited the software’s “customizable user interface and its ability to integrate such a wide variety of sensors.”
In 2023, the Royal Navy’s Peregrine program brought the combination to the front line: S-100 air vehicles with Thales as lead systems integrator and CarteNav AIMS-ISR as the mission system, fusing I-Master radar, EO/IR, and AIS aboard a Type 23 frigate. Peregrine has since supported counter-narcotics seizures in the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea and was declared ready for front-line operations in 2025.
Sensors flown on the S-100
- Thales I-Master radar: SAR and moving-target indication; the Peregrine program’s primary radar
- L3Harris WESCAM MX-10 EO/IR: flying on the S-100 since 2011
- Smith Myers ARTEMIS: mobile-phone detection and location, selected by Schiebel for full S-100 integration
- Teledyne FLIR Star SAFIRE 380-HDc compact EO/IR: deployed on S-100 emergency-response operations
- Overwatch Imaging PT-8 Oceanwatch, AIS receivers, and LiDAR: part of the type’s proven payload catalogue
Mission profiles
- Naval ISR from frigates and OPVs: organic over-the-horizon surveillance without a manned helicopter
- Counter-narcotics: Royal Navy Peregrine operations supporting interdictions in the Gulf of Oman
- Coast guard & EEZ surveillance: the S-100 has flown maritime surveillance, emissions monitoring, and pollution response across European waters
- Search and rescue support: EO/IR search patterns and phone-detection payloads from ship or shore
One mission system across crewed and uncrewed fleets
For operators already flying AIMS-ISR on maritime patrol aircraft or helicopters, the S-100 extends the same operating picture, data formats, and operator skills to an uncrewed platform. This enables manned-unmanned teaming with one mission system, not two.
