UAVs

On 11 August Boeing is likely to announce the Schiebel S-100 unmanned helicopter as a new partner in the UAV market.

Although the company has not confirmed the arrangement, evidence of a new partnership was abundant the day before the AUVSI's Unmanned Systems North America 2009 show began at the Walter E. Washington convention center in Washington DC.

A full-scale mock-up of the Austrian company's S-100 Camcopter is installed on the Boeing display in the exhibit hall. The S-100 also appeared on a poster hanging in Boeing's display area at the UAV demonstration held at Naval Air Station Patuxent River's Webster Field annex. The Boeing poster includes the slogan, "Unmanned air surveillance from air and sea."

Further, Boeing has scheduled a news conference for 11 August to announce a new teaming agreement in the UAV market.

Schiebel and Boeing have not previously announced a marketing or business relationship. The 440lb S-100 is able to lift a 55lb payload, and in June it became the first UAV to participate in the air display at the Paris Air Show.