The Schiebel CAMCOPTER S-301 heavy-lift vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) uncrewed air system (UAS) made its public debut at Eurosatory 2026.
Thales announced that it will collaborate with Schiebel, following their successful selection for participation in the Royal Air Force’s Land Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP) framework, and will be among the final four contenders for UK MoD’s Project NYX, offering the CAMCOPTER S-301 for the programme. Project NYX is the British Army’s concept demonstrator programme to develop a UAS capable of acting as a ‘loyal wingman’ to Apache crews across various missions. With a strong emphasis on the increasing importance of sovereign autonomy and crewed/uncrewed teaming in modern defence operations, and the integration of advanced autonomous technologies, Thales and Schiebel aim to improve effectiveness, flexibility, and mission success.
The CAMCOPTER S-300 has also been chosen as the airborne platform for SWORD, a European Defence Fund (EDF) project focused on stand-off anti-submarine warfare operations by remote deployment as part of a consortium led by TKMS ATLAS ELEKTRONIK. SWORD aims to develop a system-of-systems for stand-off anti-submarine warfare (ASW), providing an integrated sensor-to-shooter functional chain that enables naval platforms to detect, track, classify, and neutralise submerged threats.
As part of the consortium, Schiebel will contribute the CAMCOPTER S-300 UAS. With its extended endurance, high payload capacity, and compact operational footprint, the S-300 is ideally suited to support complex maritime missions and the remote deployment of advanced sensor and mission payloads. It has an endurance of up to 24 hours and operates at an altitude of up to 21,000 feet, offering a persistent loiter capacity for ISTAR operations. It can carry payloads of up to 250 kg, making it an ideal cargo delivery solution over long distances in complex and high-altitude terrain. The S-300 is also capable of releasing payloads, such as dropping multiple sonar buoys for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations.
Schiebel, along with Korean defence solutions companies Hanwha Systems and UI Helicopter, has been awarded a contract by the Defence Acquisition Programme Administration (DAPA) for the delivery of three CAMCOPTER S-300s to be operated by the South Korean Navy.
by David Oliver
