Schiebel is supporting global environment and wildlife protection activities through a partnership with Earthrace Conservation, a non-profit organisation, providing its CAMCOPTER® S-100 Unmanned Air System (UAS) for maritime deployment.

aerobd.news : Deployed onboard the Earthrace vessel M/Y MODOC, a CAMCOPTER® S-100 system is currently supporting the NGO operations in South America. The main tasks involve finding and monitoring illegal fishing, identifying wildlife smuggling, hunting poachers, locating illegal gold miners, as well as rescuing illegally held animals. In one of its recent operations of global interest, this July, the ship monitored a Chinese squid fleet in international waters west of the Galapagos Islands. The ships have been accused of various illegal activities in recent years, including:

• fishing illegally in Ecuadorian and Argentinian waters;
• spoofing of Automatic Identification System (AIS) by transmitting fake GPS data; and
• human rights violations.

The S-100 has proved to be a key asset to the Earthrace team, conducting regular flights that have allowed close monitoring and assessment of the fleet and its activities outside the Ecuadorian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Earthrace founder Captain Pete Bethune said: “The Chinese squid fleet is one of the largest on the planet, with an estimated 500 vessels. The S-100 significantly broadens the MODOC’s area of operation and allows us to keep a close watch on the fleet. The fact that they are being observed has already led to a reduction in illegal activities.”

The CAMCOPTER® S-100 is equipped with a Trakka TC-300 Electro-Optical / Infra-Red (EO/IR) camera gimbal and an AIS receiver.

Hans Georg Schiebel, Chairman of the Schiebel Group, said: “I am very pleased to be able to support Earthrace with our proven and unrivalled UAS capability. Detecting illegal activities from the sky, using an Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV), is a hugely important capability for Earthrace’s missions and its endeavour of protecting the environment and wildlife for future generations.”

About Schiebel :
Founded in 1951 in Vienna, the globally operating Schiebel Group focuses on the development, design and production of the revolutionary CAMCOPTER® S-100 Unmanned Air System (UAS). Certified to meet AS/EN 9100 standards, Schiebel has built an international reputation for producing high-tech military, commercial and humanitarian products, which are backed by exceptional after-sales service and support. Schiebel has facilities in Vienna and Wiener Neustadt (Austria), Manassas, VA (USA), Abu Dhabi (UAE), and Shoalhaven (Australia).

About the CAMCOPTER® S-100 :
Schiebel’s CAMCOPTER® S-100 Unmanned Air System (UAS) is an operationally proven capability for military and civilian applications. The Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) UAS requires no prepared area or supporting equipment to enable launch and recovery. It operates by day and by night, under adverse weather conditions, with a beyond line-of-sight capability out to 200 km / 108 nm, over land and sea. Its carbon fibre and titanium fuselage provides capacity for a wide range of payload/endurance combinations up to a service ceiling of 5,500 m / 18,000 ft. In a typical configuration, the CAMCOPTER® S-100 carries a 34-kg / 75-lbs payload up to 10 hours and is powered with AVGas or JP-5 heavy fuel. High-definition payload imagery is transmitted to the control station in real time. In
addition to its standard GPS waypoint or manual navigation, the S-100 can successfully operate in environments where GPS is not available, with missions planned and controlled via a simple point-and-click graphical user interface. The high-tech unmanned helicopter is backed by Schiebel’s excellent customer support and training services.

About Trakka Systems :
Trakka Systems design, manufacture, market and support sophisticated searchlights, gyro-stabilized camera systems, and augmented-reality mapping and optical technologies to see, to save and to protect, from airborne, land-based and maritime platforms. Trakka operates globally with sales and service facilities in Europe, the Americas, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, with dedicated manufacturing facilities in Australia, Sweden and the USA.