Little birds

The two aircraft, along with other contenders such as the Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout, loom among the contenders for a couple of Royal Australian Navy (RAN) programs in the period ahead.

First, there is the recently concluded request for information (RFI) from Defence’s Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG) for a Maritime Tactical Unmanned Air System (MTUAS) to be operated from the Navy’s forthcoming Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV). Construction of the Offshore Patrol Vessels was set to begin at Osborne in 2018.

UMS Skeldar, a joint-venture between Sweden-based Saab and UMS Aero Group of Switzerland that was established in December 2015, has proposed its V-200 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in its response to the RFI.

The VTOL unmanned helicopter is powered by a two-cylinder, in-line, two-stroke, liquid-cooled internal combustion engine from Hirth Motors that uses heavy fuel.

Further, its payload includes the ViDAR (visual identification detection and ranging) optical radar system from Australian company Sentient Vision Systems that enable the deployment of up to 10 cameras for optimal 360-degree maritime domain awareness.

“We have responded to the RFI with Saab. I think we have made a very competitive proposal and we hope that we are shortlisted,” UMS head of business development David Willems told Australian Aviation at PACIFIC 2017 on October 3.

“It’s too early to hear back from them because they had a lot of responses from many companies.”

As part of efforts to boost its presence in this part of the world, Willems said UMS Skeldar planned to establish a regional hub in Australia for its V-200 platform in 2018 as it put its best foot forward for ADF contracts and opportunities in maritime surveillance work undertaken by civilian agencies.

Willems said Australia played a strategically pivotal role in military and economic terms across the Pacific Rim, making the country a logical place for an extension of the company’s global expansion.

“We regard the Australian market and the Pacific market as a key area of interest for us and we really want to develop our presence here and get closer to the customers,” Willems said.

“Australia is so far away from the rest of the world that often companies like us and others neglect it and we feel that this is something that we really need to correct now.

“We will have a permanently-based platform here to demonstrate to the different stakeholders by next year. That’s the plan.”

We will have a permanently-based platform here. David Willems

Looking beyond military applications, UMS Skeldar has also been keen to showcase the V-200’s suitability in civilian roles.

To that end, it was announced at the Paris Airshow in June Martek Marine had selected the V-200 UAV to fulfil its European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) contract, with the aircraft to be deployed on border control operations, search and rescue operations, pollution monitoring, detecting illegal fishing, and drug and people trafficking.

Willems said the company was also looking to Australian agencies as potential customers for similar work.

“Defence is the core of customers. But the cycles are extremely long so if we were relying on that only we would be struggling,” Willems said.

“So we targeted a new type of customer, I would call them the blue forces, or government agencies such as the coast guards for instance.”

“It’s government but on the civilian side, not on the military side.”

Meanwhile, Schiebel has offered the CAMCOPTER S-100 for the OPV RFI.

But before any decision is made on that program, the Austria-based company is counting down to the delivery of the first of its heavy fuel powered version of the aircraft to the RAN expected to take place in November.

The Department of Defence signed a contract with Schiebel Group for the supply of Camcopter S-100 UAVs to meet the RAN’s interim vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial system (UAS) requirement in December 2016. It also included three years of support services.

Further, the contract fulfilled a request for tender (RFT) for Navy Minor Project (NMP) 1942, which sought to procure a “proven” VTOL Maritime Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System – Interim Capability (MTUAS-IC) and associated engineering and logistics support for the Navy.

Schiebel program manager Fabian Knechtl said the first S-100 would shortly be ready for factory acceptance by the RAN, with delivery to HMAS Albatross at Nowra expected in November.

“Within the next three years they will really validate and verify what they can do with a rotary wing VTOL system,” Knechtl told Australian Aviation at PACIFIC 2017 on October 5.

they will really validate and verify what they can do with a rotary-wing VTOL system. Fabian Knechtl

Featuring a carbon fibre and titanium fuselage, the S-100 has a maximum takeoff weight of 200kg and a maximum payload capacity of 50kg, according to the Schiebel website. It has a maximum speed of about 130kt and is powered by a 50hp rotary engine.

The aircraft has beyond line-of-sight capability out to 200km. Able to fly fully autonomously, it can be operated from a pilot control unit with missions planned and controlled via a simple point-and-click graphical user interface. High-definition payload imagery is transmitted to the control station in real time.

Knechtl said the RAN would be the launch operator of its heavy fuel version of the S-100.

Schiebel has replaced the Diamond piston engine on previous versions with a two-disc rotary engine that was sourced from a British supplier and modified in-house. The engines will take JP-5, a high flash point fuel that is increasingly the requirement now for navies around the world.

“Our information on our closest competitors, other rotary VTOL systems, is they claim they have a heavy fuel engine but they are not running and flying on JP-5,” Knechtl said.

“They are flying on Jet A1, which is a diesel or kerosene. This is not what Navy wants to do.

“It’s very nice to say you have a heavy fuel or diesel engine, but that doesn’t mean you have a JP-5 engine. This is the champions league of heavy fuel.”

The imminent arrival of the S-100 at Nowra would extend Schiebel’s work with the Navy that stretched back to 2015, when the aircraft was involved in some demonstrations as part of the RAN’s unmanned aircraft system development unit.

In March, an S-100 crashed inside the Beecroft Air Weapons Range at Jervis Bay in NSW, while conducting flying conversion training for RAN personnel. Schiebel Aircraft was the contracted operator and owner of the aircraft involved.

Both the RAN and the manufacturer were investigating the incident and Knechtl said many lessons have already been learned.

Schiebel was part of the Queensland state government’s Department of State Development stand at PACIFIC 2017, which served to highlight the company’s commitment to involving local industry in its Australian operations.

Its Australian representative is Brisbane-based Unmanned Systems Australia.

Knechtl said Australian firms have been used to supply certain modules to its Camcopter system to be used by the RAN.

“We know it is very important, not only from a political aspect, that if you want to be in the game you must create jobs and team up with Australian companies,” Knechtl said.

“We are really exploring every option as to what will be best.”

The Future Frigate

Both manufacturers are also looking at the SEA 5000 Future Frigate program that will replace the Anzac class frigates and was due to commence in 2020. The Future Frigates will be built in South Australia.

Top-level requirements for the Future Frigates include the ability to carry out operations ranging from low-level constabulary activities to high-end warfighting, and the ability to operate helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles.

The government was tipped to announce the designer of the Future Frigate in 2018, after the request for tender was released to BAE Systems, Fincantieri and Navantia in March.

Willems said UMS Skeldar was also offering the V-200 helicopter for the Future Frigate program.

“The V-200 was designed for a multi-mission platform. It is the same one that we will use for both programs,” Willems said.

“The logistic footprint is so small that you don’t need to have a huge frigate or huge OPV to operate it. It can really take off from a small ship.”

Meanwhile, it was understood Schiebel was also considering the development of a larger “bigger brother” version of the S-100 in response to market demand. Any larger UAV may be suitable for the Future Frigates program.

There were an estimated 100 S-100 aircraft flying with various operators around the world, with Schiebel regarded as the market leader in its class.