Thailand selects S-100 Camcopter VTOL UAV for naval use

The Schiebel S-100 Camcopter. Photo c/o Armada International.

The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) has selected Austrian aviation company Schiebel Aircraft GmbH to possibly supply their S-100 Camcopter vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle system.

A notice made by the RTN’s procurement office mentioned that Schiebel Aircraft was selected under a THB266.6 million (US$8.7 million) deal for one Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.

Once delivered, the S-100 can be operated from ships with limited flight deck space, giving ships a bigger view of its surroundings and improving its surveillance capabilities. The S-100 can also be used to assist in targeting for long range anti-ship missiles launched from the host ship.

The S-100 has a range of up to 200 kilometers, can operate day and night and under adverse weather conditions, and can be operated automatically via pre-programmed GPS waypoints, or manually using a pilot control unit.

The acquisition may only be a test-buy to see how the S-100 will perform with the RTN. Once proven to be valuable, it is expected that the RTN would order more units.


[1] AAG_Th Thai Defense Page
[2] Schiebel