OAO Gorizont (Russia) and Schiebel (Austria) have joined forces to deliver an Unmanned Air System (UAS) in Russia based on the famous and proven S-100 unmanned helicopter. One UAS will be soon in operational use for a government customer.

The focus for the collaboration is the civil UAS market in Russia and the opportunities for this helicopter drone are extensive over the next few years, ranging from agricultural, wildlife and forestry surveillance to the monitoring and inspection of specific structures, such as nuclear power plants, hydroelectric facilities, spaceports and pipelines. On a wider and more federal front, by being able to provide real time and highly accurate information to the user on the ground, it is ideally suited to major applications such as land and maritime border control and enforcement.

A VTOL UAS adds unique flexibility to operations and delivers capability that manned helicopters, airplanes, and even fixed-wing UAVs cannot offer. Its long endurance, small logistic footprint and very low operating costs, as well as the ability to hover for extended periods of time, whilst providing operators with extensive fields of view by both day and night, make it the ideal platform for a wide range of operations.

We have been working in the area surveillance and security for many years and are very pleased to now include and use the proven S-100 to the benefit of our customers.

Applications for the drone are many in both the military and civilian fields. This venture offers new opportunities for the benefit of both our companies. said Igor Khokhlov, JSC Gorizont General Director.

As Hans Georg Schiebel, Chairman of the Schiebel Group commented I am excited by this unified approach; both companies share a vision for creating and supporting the latest and most versatile technology and products to ensure that our customers get the best capability available on the market today.

Visitors can see for themselves the highly versatile and fully autonomous helicopter drone at the International Maritime Defence Show IMDS 2011 in St. Petersburg, Russia, from 29 June to 3 July 2011 at booth number 7, showcase Nr.732.

About Gorizont:
Over a period of 50 years, the Gorizont open joint-stock company has held a firm place in the Russian market among manufacturers of shipboard navigational radar stations and coastal radar surveillance complexes. The radars produced at Gorizont ensure safety for ship motion and benefit to the guard borders of Russia. During last 10 years, the company has been developing the international market, where the goods of JCS Gorizont have been evaluated to meet the international standards for technical level, quality, user-friendliness and design. For the last 3 years, the product line has been completely renewed and branched out into new types of products, such as control systems for shipboard use, integrated bridge systems, industrial LCD displays, multifunctional panels with sensor control or NRS for airfields.