The trend of using drones for surveillance is on the up. A good example of this is the Royal Danish Navy (RDN) which is operating the Schiebel CAMCOPTER S-100 for maritime surveillance. The Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) service is delivered by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).
Stationed in Denmark’s northernmost town Skagen, the CAMCOPTER S-100 is supporting the RDN alongside other national authorities in carrying out various maritime surveillance tasks, including detecting, verifying and providing information on potential oil spills and discharges at sea.
All data gathered from the flights is shared live through the EMSA RPAS Data Centre allowing users to monitor any unusual activity at sea with a potentially harmful impact on the safety and security of persons and vessels in the area or affecting the environment itself. The S-100’s multiple state-of-the-art sensors significantly enhance the maritime surveillance capabilities of the RDN.
The UAS is equipped with an L3 Wescam Electro-Optical / Infra-Red (EO/IR) camera gimbal, an Overwatch Imaging PT-8 Oceanwatch and an Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver.
Hans Georg Schiebel, Chairman of the Schiebel Group, said: “Schiebel has been successfully working with EMSA in several European countries so far. We are proud that the S-100 is making such an essential impact, now also for the Royal Danish Navy.”