Schiebel has announced that as part of an ongoing homicide investigation in Stiwoll, Austria late last year, its CAMCOPTER S-100 UAS demonstrated its suitability for search and rescue missions, during a first of its kind operation.

During the operation, Schiebel provided Austrian law enforcement with its CAMCOPTER S-100 UAS and operating personnel to help in the search for a double homicide suspect assumed to be hiding in a forest region.

“This is a prime example for the potential civil use of a UAS such as the S-100,” says Hans Georg Schiebel, Chairman of the Schiebel Group.

“Of course we gave our full support to the special investigative team in its efforts to conduct a rapid and efficient search of wide rural areas and bring this case to a successful conclusion.”

According to Schiebel, the S-100 UAS offers a “more cost- and mission-effective” system for conducting these types of exploration tasks in comparison to manned helicopters.

Thanks to its endurance of up to six hours within a 200-kilometer radius, the S-100 has “enhanced operational capability,” which allows for significantly extended search flight missions. The UAS also allows operatives to “systematically cover larger areas,” and collect important intelligence in the form of “real-time day and night electro-optical / infrared video footage” in less time.

The S-100’s ability to “collect and analyze imagery simultaneously in a controlled environment on the ground” offers another mission-critical advantage. Schiebel says that this type of setting is “far more conducive for effective analysis and target pick-up than on board a helicopter and considerably improves the probability of successful detection.”

The S-100’s small logistical footprint, and its rapid deployment and ease of operation, are some of the other features that make this system ideal for search and rescue missions, according to the company.