Boeing Unmanned Helicopter Performs Flight Demo for US Army

Boeing demonstrated its S-100 Camcopter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to the US Army, with the aircraft resupplying the soldiers with small cargo packages.

“A first for the vertical lift UAV – the S-100 CAMCOPTER recently delivered supplies to US Army troops, the first time an autonomous air vehicle with vertical takeoff and landing resupplied Army troops,” the company posted on its official Twitter account on April 6.

The S-100 flew 31 missions delivering 726kg (1,600lb) of food, water, simulated blood and ammunition during a recent Army exercise, the company said.

Co-produced with Austria’s Schiebel, the S-100 is capable of carrying 34kg of payload for more than 6 hours. It can take a maximum payload of 50kg.

The S-100 navigates automatically via pre-programmed GPS waypoints or can be operated directly with a pilot control unit.

Missions are planned and controlled via a simple point-and-click graphical user interface. High-definition payload imagery is transmitted to the control station in real time. Using “fly-by-wire” technology controlled by redundant flight computers, the UAV can complete its mission automatically in the most complex of electromagnetic environments. Its carbon fiber and titanium fuselage provides capacity for a wide range of payload / endurance combinations.