Monthly Archives: March 2017

Unmanned Systems

Schiebel Selects CarteNav’s AIMS-ISR® Software for Royal Australian Navy Contract

 

CarteNav Solutions Inc. (http://www.CarteNav.com), the international leader in mission system software solutions, announced today that its AIMS-ISR® software has been chosen by Austrian firm Schiebel for its CAMCOPTER® S-100 Unmanned Air System (UAS) contract with the Royal Australian Navy.

CarteNav’s AIMS-ISR® software is customisable for a wide range of missions, platform types, and sensor suites and the company has been working closely with Schiebel to produce a version of AIMS-ISR® software optimised for the CAMCOPTER® S-100. The software provides an enhanced sensor management capability with an intuitive and flexible user interface for the UAS payload operator. It also provides a more streamlined workflow allowing for coordinated planning of mission objectives with mission data distributed across all AIMS-ISR® workstations that are connected to the network.

The Royal Australian Navy released an international Request for Tender in late February 2016 for a UAS capability and in December 2016 the contract was signed with delivery scheduled for mid-2017.

“The flexibility and connectivity of CarteNav’s software is truly impressive,” said Chris Day, CTO at Schiebel. “We chose CarteNav’s software because of its customisable user interface and its ability to integrate such a wide variety of sensors into a fully geo-referenced operating picture.”

AIMS-ISR® mission system software will be integrated into the CAMCOPTER® S-100’s Ground Control Station and will provide the ability to cross-cue sensors to various targets, as well as providing mission planning and mission review capabilities.

CarteNav’s software has been used previously on a variety of manned and unmanned systems for border patrol and airborne reconnaissance.

“A key benefit of using our software is that it can integrate sensors of various types from many leading manufacturers,” said Paul Evans, CarteNav’s President. “AIMS software manages the complete sensor payload including controlling the Electro-Optic/Infra-Red (EO/IR) imaging systems and other sensors to improve mission efficiency and effectiveness. We are excited to be working with Schiebel on this project and look forward to delivering a world-leading solution to the Royal Australian Navy.”

About CarteNav Solutions

CarteNav is an ISO 9001:2015-certified company headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. From its founding in August 2002, CarteNav has become a recognised leader in mission system software that enhances situational awareness and improves mission effectiveness on airborne, land-based, and maritime platforms. The software is operational on civil, government, military, and paramilitary deployments in over 35 countries across 6 continents. Following its acquisition in 2016, CarteNav is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Provincial Aerospace Ltd. and is part of the Exchange Income Corporation (EIC) group of companies.

About Schiebel

Founded in 1951, the Schiebel Group of companies focuses on the development, testing, and production of state-of-the-art mine detection equipment and the revolutionary CAMCOPTER® S-100 UAS. Schiebel has built an international reputation for producing quality products, backed by exceptional after-sales service and support. Schiebel maintains offices and production facilities in Vienna and Wiener Neustadt (Austria), as well as offices in Abu Dhabi (UAE), Manassas VA (USA), and Phnom Penh (Cambodia).

About the CAMCOPTER® S-100

Schiebel’s CAMCOPTER® S-100 UAS is a proven capability for military and civilian applications. The Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) UAS needs no prepared area or supporting launch or recovery equipment. It operates in day and night, under adverse weather conditions, with a beyond line-of-sight capability out to 200 km, both on land and at sea. In its standard configuration, the CAMCOPTER® S-100 has a service ceiling of 18,000 feet, carries a 75 lbs/34 kg payload for up to 10 hours and is powered with AVGas or heavy fuel.

Courtesy : PRWeb

Unmanned Systems

Avalon 2017: ADF progresses UAV capability

Australia’s latest acquisition – the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 was on display at the Avalon Air Show near Melbourne, where the three branches of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) displayed almost the full range of UAV types currently in service.

The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) recently signed an order for two S-100 systems (with a single aircraft in each system) under Navy Minor Project 1942, which will be used for evaluations as the navy moves towards selection of a UAV system for future warships.

In about August the RAN will conduct its first embarked trials of the S-100 aboard a frigate. It will be operated by the Naval Unmanned Aircraft Systems Unit (NUASU), which was originally formed in 2011 as a UAV development group.

As well as the S-100, the RAN also operates the Insitu Scan Eagle, with eight aircraft currently in service. Three have petrol engines and are used for shore-based training, while another three have heavy fuel engines that permit them to embark upon warships.

The RAN plans to use both fixed-wing and rotary-winged UAVs for use aboard ships. In around 2023 it will order UAVs under further phases of Joint Project 129.

Duggan said the RAN’s current intent is to operate a mixed fleet, but work needs to be done to explore the correct mix and crewing.

One NUASU member said that rotary-winged platforms were preferable aboard ships because of their much smaller footprint, where the UAV can share space with a helicopter inside the hangar, and can take off and land from the flight deck.

Furthermore, the catapult launcher and skyhook currently used by the ScanEagle add considerable weight, in the order of 2t, to ships.

The Australian Army, meanwhile, previously conducted successful evaluations with the tiny Prox Dynamics PD-100 Black Hornet nano-UAV and AeroVironment Wasp AE micro-UAV. The infantry and armoured corps employed these on exercises, for example.

The army is buying greater quantities of each type. Shephard understands that the army is procuring 150-200 Black Hornet kits, with each kit containing five miniature UAVs (two with daytime cameras, two with thermal cameras and a spare). A tender for this capability closed in August 2016, and the intent is to roll out these nano-UAVs to both the cavalry and infantry.

It is believed the army is also acquiring 78 examples of the Wasp AE under Project Land 129 Phase 4, which seeks UAVs for the battlegroup level. XTEK – teamed with AeroVironment, Sentient Vsision Systems and General Dynamics Mediaware – was selected last April as preferred bidder.

The army’s largest UAV is the AAI RQ-7B Shadow 200, which is operated by the 20th Surveillance and Target Acquisition Regiment. Shephard learned at the Avalon Air Show that work is ongoing to exploit integration of the Shadow’s laser designators with aircraft like the Tiger helicopter and Hornet/Super Hornet fighter.

This year the army will also certify the Shadow for use on dirt airstrips.

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) also operates the Heron 1, while the General Atomics Reaper and IAI Heron TP were slugging it out at the Avalon Air Show for the right to supply Project Air 7003 Phase 1’s requirement for an armed MALE UAV platform.

To see the full article see Shephard Media