The French Armament General Directorate (DGA) announces that the Camcopter S100 VTOL UAV is now fully integrated with French Navy Mistral-class LHD Dixmude, stressing that for the first time in Europe, a rotary wing UAV is fully operational and connected to the combat system of a warship.

The Airbus Helicopters VSR700 naval VTOL UAV made its maiden flight on November 8 at the Aix-en-Provence drone test center (south of France). Several test captive-flights were successfully performed on an enhanced version of the UAV.

Schiebel’s proven CAMCOPTER® S-100 Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) Unmanned Air System (UAS) performed a five-day maritime surveillance demonstration aboard Finnish Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) Turva.

The U.S. Navy declared initial operational capability (IOC) of the MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter June 28 clearing the way for fleet operations and training.