The Army has conducted a two-week activity with Schiebel’s Camcopter UAS to gain further insights into future capabilities and payloads in support of Project Land 129-3.
ELTA Systems’ ELK-7065 Airborne HF COMINT/DF 3D System was tested during the first week, followed by Overwatch Imaging’s TK-5 Firewatch in the second week.
The S-100 is a vertical take-off and landing UAS with a beyond line-of-sight capability of up to 200 km.
The combination of the Camcopter and the ELK-7065 trials a communications intelligence (COMINT) capability for spectrum exploration, analysis and detection of HF communication signals.
“The ELK-7065, integrated on the Camcopter UAS, offers the essential capability of delivering time-critical intelligence in the most complex operational environments,” Chris Day, Chief Technical Officer for Schiebel, said. “This is increasingly important for military, para-military and civilian applications.”
Overwatch Imaging’s TK-5 Firewatch payload, which was tested during the second week of the exercise, bridges the gap between small drone mapping cameras and satellite mapping systems. The wide-area multi-band land mapping with automatic small object detection enables regional-scale applications in real-time.
“The lease of the Camcopter and its advanced payloads is an important activity supporting Army’s understanding of UAS capabilities,” Director General of Aviation Brigadier John Fenwick said.
“We will continue to explore all options to keep the Australian Army at the forefront of new technologies.”