Schiebel is hopeful that customers could begin fielding its new armed S-101 and S-301 rotary-wing uncrewed air systems (UAS) from next year.
Launched on 9 September by the Austrian manufacturer’s newly established defence division, the pair are an evolution of the existing Camcopter S-100 and S-300 surveillance platforms.
Schiebel plans to make the two platforms initially with either the Thales air-to-ground Martlet/Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM) or guided rockets from the French weapons maker.
Schiebel says the 660kg (1,455lb) maximum take-off weight (MTOW) S-301 will be able to carry up to 80kg of payload on either side of the aircraft, equating to a total of eight LMMs or 10 70mm-diameter rockets.
The smaller 200kg MTOW S-101, meanwhile, can accommodate up to 15kg on either side – a pair of LMMs.
Other weapons will also be considered for integration depending on customer demand, the manufacturer says. A fire-control system will also be added as part of the upgrade.
“All customers are asking for weapons,” it says, “we are responding to the demand signal.”
While Schiebel says fielding of the armed UAS in 2026 is an “optimistic” timeline, it believes this is still achievable.
Other payloads are also available, including a maritime radar, sonobuoy dispenser and electro-optical/infrared camera.
Earlier this year, Thales said it was working to integrate Martlet onto the Peregrine – a S-100-based intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platform it has developed for the UK Royal Navy (RN) under an urgent operational requirement. It hopes to perform a firing campaign with the platform in 2026.
Thales also displayed on its stand at the DSEI show a model of the Peregrine fitted with a pair of LMMs.
The Peregrine is also equipped with Thales’s I-Master radar, an electro-optical/infrared camera, an automatic identification system receiver, and CarteNav AIMS mission system for ISR tasks.
Meanwhile, the RN on 11 September announced that it had approved the Peregrine’s release to service, along with that of the Malloy Aeronautics T-150.
Development and production of the S-101 and S-301 will be handled by Schiebel Defence, a newly established unit based in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, that will be dedicated exclusively to armed UAS.
“The launch of the weaponised S-101 and S-301 platforms reflects our commitment to providing armed forces with advanced, reliable and mission-ready armed systems that meet the challenges of modern operations,” says Hans Georg Schiebel, chairman of the Schiebel Group.
Story updated to include release to service approval for the Peregrine UAS.
