23 February 2023
by Akshara Parakala
Comparision of Schiebel Camcopter S-300 and S-100 UAS. (Schiebel)
Schiebel Corporation has detailed the development of a larger variant of its Camcopter S-100 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at IDEX 2023, being held in Abu Dhabi from 20 to 24 February.
The Camcopter S-300, a larger variant of the S-100, is designed to meet the requirements of customers seeking extended range, higher endurance, and enhanced payload-carrying capabilities.
Schiebel's chairman, Hans Georg Schiebel, told Janes that “Schiebel started the development of the S-300 to provide heavylift solution for land and maritime domains, perform better anti-submarine warfare operations, and have scope to integrate various types of radars”.
The new vertical take-off and landing (VTOL)-capable S-300 is intended for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations for civil, governmental, and military organisations.
The S-300 is fitted with multiple hardpoints for flexible payload installationwith a capacity of up to 250 kg, while using the same ground control station and payload fits of the S-100, Schiebel said.
24 April 2024
by Jeremy Binnie
A still from a video released on 21 April shows the Iraqi Army Aviation Command stand at IQDEX in Baghdad. (Iraqi Ministry of Defence)
Iraqi Army Aviation Command (IAAC) has confirmed it has ordered, if not already received, Chinese-made CH-5 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The command's stand at the International Defense Exhibition in Iraq (IQDEX) held in Baghdad from 20 to 23 April was decorated with posters that showed all the aircraft it has in service, which included the CH-5 next to the CH-4 UAV operated by its 100 Squadron.
Earlier reports that Iraq had acquired CH-5s were based on a photograph that circulated on social media in September 2023 showing a man holding a certificate in front of a projected image that identified the event as the “closing ceremony for CH-5 training” above Iraqi and Chinese flags.
A second photograph purportedly of the certificate showed it was for the successful completion of the CH-5 theoretical, practical, and flight training courses. While the graduate's name was obscured, it had stamps from the Iraqi military attaché office in China as well as the Chinese companies Poly Technologies and CH UAV Science and Technology Company.
24 April 2024
by Zach Rosenberg
A GA-ASI Mojave UAV performs a gun-run with a Dillon DAP-6 podded minigun. (GA-ASI)
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc (GA-ASI) has tested a podded gun on its Mojave short take-off and landing (STOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the company said in a 23 April release.
GA-ASI mounted two Dillon DAP-6 podded miniguns to the Mojave and tested the combination at the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona on 13 April. The Mojave performed seven gun-runs during two flights, expending around 10,000 rounds of ammunition against “a variety of targets”, according to GA-ASI. A video accompanying the release showed the UAV destroying a pickup truck.
“For this live-fire demonstration, our goal was to validate the [Mojave's] battlefield relevance,” GA-ASI told Janes on 23 April. “As such, the effort was done completely using GA-ASI's [internal research and development funding], but we believe that successfully demonstrating this capability is of considerable interest to potential customers.”
Integrating the gun pods took “about 70 business days” to complete, added the company.
23 April 2024
by Jeremy Binnie
Chad's new Aksungur is seen warming up for take-off in a still from a video released by the AAT. (Armée de l'Air Tchadienne)
The Chadian Air Force (AAT) has revealed it has received at least one Turkish Aerospace (TUSAŞ) Aksungur unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
It released a video on 21 April that included footage of an Aksungur with AAT markings and the Turkish-format serial 23013 taking off from Adji Kosseï Air Base at N'Djamena International Airport armed with eight MAM-L small laser-guided bombs. The video also featured AAT personnel being trained by TUSAŞ in Türkiye.
The AAT operates at least two TUSAŞ Anka UAVs and three TUSAŞ Hürkuş-C turboprop light-attack aircraft, which were unveiled when President General Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno visited Adji Kosseï Air Base in July 2023.
Schiebel Corporation has detailed the development of a larger variant of its Camcopter S-100 unmanne...
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