Last year, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) selected Schiebel’s S-100 Camcopter rotary-winged UAV as its next platform for shipboard use. Raytheon Australia is heading the programme, and it was appointed to meet the single-source acquisition, rather than the navy proceeding through a competitive tender.
This programme is known as Project Sea 129 Phase 5 Block 1, and many were somewhat surprised that Australia was fast-tracking the procurement in this way. Canberra calls it ‘progressive industry engagement’, and the aim is to get S-100s in the hands of the navy more quickly, reaching an initial operational capability a whole 18 months earlier by the RAN’s reckoning.
However, the Defence Strategic Review has created uncertainty for a number of defence projects, and the same is true of Sea 129 Phase 5. With the acquisition currently in somewhat of a holding pattern, Fabian Knechtl, Schiebel Pacific’s Managing Director, nevertheless hopes a contract will be signed before the end of 2023.
Once signed, it is expected to comprise two years of acquisition, and five years of sustainment. Knechtl said no decision has been made on the number of aircraft to be procured. Instead, the RAN talks about eight capability bricks, with Schiebel Pacific expecting each brick to consist of 2-3 aircraft. A handful more UAVs would be needed for training purposes.
The RAN’s 822x Squadron has already been operating three S-100s since 2018, so the navy is familiar with the platform, and this past experience could have been uppermost in the RAN’s mind. Indeed, the trio was retrofitted with heavy-fuel S-2 engines. That particular contract was extended in July 2021 for a further three years, and three extra S-100s were added to the navy’s squadron.
The design, development, manufacture, integration and support of the system will be undertaken in Australia, at Schiebel’s hub in Shoalhaven, New South Wales. It will create approximately 100 jobs in Australia.
Schiebel defeated other contenders BAE Systems Australia, Insitu Pacific (with the ScanEagle/Integrator), Northrop Grumman Australia (AWHero) and Textron Systems Australia (Aerosonde V4/HQ).
Sea 129 Phase 5 will span 30 years, with five-year rolling block upgrades occurring to incorporate new technologies. Commencing in 2024, Block 1 will acquire eight capability bricks of UAVs operating primarily from Arafura-class offshore patrol vessels and Anzac-class frigates.
Block 2 will proceed from 2029, refreshing Block 1 systems and adding five further capability bricks to equip Hunter-class frigates and deployment on other ship classes. There will also be Block 3, introducing a comprehensive update and refresh of the UAV to integrate new payloads and capabilities.
Incidentally, Schiebel announced its new and larger S-300 Camcopter at last week’s IDEX 2023 exhibition in Abu Dhabi. The S-300 offers extended range, greater endurance and a larger 250kg payload capacity. It could thus carry other types of radars or be used for submarine warfare, for instance.
Knechtl said that the S-300 could be offered to Australia too as part of future blocks and upgrades.
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