The Royal Australian Navy is set to receive a fleet of the ISR drones, with Defence rubber-stamping an expedited order.
According to reports originally published in The Australian, Minister for Defence Peter Dutton has greenlit the purchase of 40 Schiebel S-100 Camcopter drones for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) as part of a $1.3 billion program.
The platforms, set to perform intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, would be deployed from the RAN’s Anzac Class frigates and Arafura Class offshore patrol vessels (OPVs).
The unmanned aerial system (UAS) has been on trial with the RAN since 2016 after it was selected following a request for tender (RFT) for Navy Minor Project (NMP) 1942, which sought to procure a “proven” VTOL Maritime Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System – Interim Capability (MTUAS-IC) and associated engineering and logistics support for the Navy.