The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) has selected Schiebel‘s S-100 Camcopter for an initial phase of the Royal Australian Navy’s program to acquire a maritime unmanned aircraft system (MUAS), according to reports.
Schiebel Pacific said in response to the move that it “welcomes the decision of the Commonwealth of Australia to speed up the provision of its UAS capability by initiating a single source acquisition of the CAMCOPTER S-100. This will enable the RAN to accelerate the capability acquisition they need and together with our local partners, we are committed to deliver the best UAS solution for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The offered Maritime Uncrewed Aircraft System (MUAS) builds on the capability that has been provided by the proven CAMCOPTER S-100 air vehicle currently in service with the RAN and is expected to create about 100 new Australian jobs. The design, development, manufacture, integration and support of the system will all be undertaken in Australia.”
The S-100 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) will now proceed through a single-source procurement process for the first block of the $1.3 billion three-block MUAS programme under Project Sea 129 Phase 5. The number of S-100s under consideration for the first block has not been disclosed, although an unconfirmed media report referred to an initial procurement of 40. Proposed by Raytheon Australia and its partner Schiebel Pacific, the S-100 was chosen without an open tender from five shortlisted contenders for single-source consideration in a move that would advance initial operating capability (IOC) by 18 months, the ministerial spokesperson said in media reports.
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