Successful flight trials for Thales I-Master on Schiebel Camcopter S-100

Vienna, 19 February 2013 – Thales’ I-Master radar system has successfully completed flight trials on-board a Schiebel CAMCOPTER® S-100 UAS (Unmanned Air System). The flight trials on CAMCOPTER® S-100 took place on 7 February 2013 at the Schiebel test facility in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. The flights, each lasting several hours, successfully proved both sensor performance and the stability of data transfer between radar operator and the airborne I-Master.

I-Master is a high-performance radar, providing Ground Moving Target Indication (GMTI) and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) capability for all-weather surveillance, detection and recognition of targets over large areas at long stand-off ranges. Schiebel’s CAMCOPTER® S-100 is a proven Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) rotary wing UAS capable of carrying a wide range of sensors for military and civilian applications. Eddie Awang, Vice President of Intelligence Surveillance & Reconnaissance at Thales UK, said, “This trial, conducted in partnership with Schiebel, provided excellent GMTI and SAR results. It shows that I-Master can operate successfully on this VTOL UAV, meeting the specific challenges of unmanned platforms without interference or operational impact.

I-Master has again proven its world-leading credentials. It provides the best performance in its class, in a flexible adaptable package, bringing a high-end capability to more customers around the world – fixed wing aircraft and UAVs, helicopters, and now the Schiebel CAMCOPTER® S-100. Whether installed alone or to complement electro-optical/infrared sensors, I-Master greatly improves the effectiveness of any surveillance scenario.”

Hans Georg Schiebel, the Schiebel Group’s chairman said “The I-Master radar integrated easily to CAMCOPTER® S-100, proving the flexibility of both the UAV and the radar. With the I-Master installed, the system performed even above our high expectations and provides invaluable surveillance, detection and recognition capability.”

Weighing only 30 kg, I-Master has been designed for easy installation with ‘plug & play’ integration. It is designed with the same footprint as a standard 15’’ EO/IR sensor turret, allowing simple air worthiness and certification.

The CAMCOPTER® S-100 equipped with I-Master, provides high-fidelity imagery for classification and positioning of various targets through 360º and can accurately detect and locate moving targets, from fast moving vehicles to individuals at walking pace. This
provides an effective asset in operations such as homeland security, border surveillance pipeline security and incident management.