Thales, Schiebel to provide UAS for protection of UK’s Type 23 frigates

Thales and Schiebel have been awarded a contract by the UK Ministry of Defence to deliver a rotary wing uncrewed air system (UAS) to provide a protective ‘eye in the sky’ capability for Royal Navy warships.

The contract for the Peregrine system will see a rotary-powered UAS, fitted with a naval surveillance sensors suite, deployed to help protect a Type 23 frigate on operational tasking.

Schiebel will provide its operationally proven CAMCOPTER S-100, an uncrewed air system that already has more than 100,000 operating hours, including demanding deck-launched operations in challenging winds and sea states.

The S-100’s sensors, supported by an automatic identification system and fused together with the CarteNav AIMS Mission System provide the operator the ability to detect and identify unknown targets quickly.

The Thales I-Master radar can be operated in both Synthetic Aperture Radar and Maritime Moving Target Indication modes and once it detects and finds a contact, the on board electro-optical/infra-red sensor is cross-cued to perform the identification.

High-definition imagery and radar data is downloaded to the human operator and disseminated in real time through the host ship’s Combat Management System and made available to multiple users.

“We are immensely proud that the CAMCOPTER^® S-100 is the UK Ministry of Defence’s choice for its prestigious Peregrine programme. The S-100 is the optimal UAS for a growing number of Navies worldwide and has proven its superiority and outstanding capabilities throughout its numerous operational deployments,” Hans Georg Schiebel, Chairman of the Schiebel Group, said.

“This is a significant milestone for the Royal Navy as it is an immediate enhancement to its operational capability, but it also supports their strategic transition to uncrewed technology in line with their Future Maritime Aviation Force strategy. I am pleased that our long tradition of supporting the Royal Navy’s ‘eyes and ears’ situational awareness capability continues with this latest contract,” Alex Cresswell, CEO of Thales in the UK, said.