France's navy will employ the unmanned Camcopter S-100 rotorcraft by Vienna-based Schiebel on board its new Gowind-class offshore patrol vessels.
The ships are primarily to be used for surveillance and reconnaissance missions as well as anti-piracy and anti-smuggling. The first one, L'Adroit, is currently being built by the French naval defence company DCNS and is due to be handed over to the navy by the end of this year, according to Schiebel.
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Operational tests of the drone, which has thus far accumulated around 500 flights from both military and civilian ships, are to begin in the autumn.
The Gowind-class ships are the first vessels designed to carry an unmanned air vehicle, according to the Austrian company.
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Source: Flight Daily News
