Airbus and Schiebel complete manned-unmanned teaming test flight

Airbus Helicopters has completed a series of manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) test flights in collaboration with Schiebel to explore the advantages and challenges of MUM-T flight operations.

Tests were performed as part of a technology partnership between the Austrian Armaments and Defense Technology Agency (ARWT) and Schiebel.

Expected to primarily serve the army aviation sector, the tests involved the use of Airbus Helicopters’ manned, twin-engine H145 platform and Schiebel’s CAMCOPTER S-100 unmanned air system (UAS).

As part of the tests, the H145 and CAMCOPTER S-100 aircraft jointly flew to test capabilities, including the detection of objects in areas that traditional helicopters cannot access.

Operators in the H145 helicopter controlled and piloted the S-100 vehicle.

During the tests, MUM-T flights were temporarily operated by a ground-based control station to simulate the return of the manned helicopter for refuelling.

The trials have achieved the highest Level 5 of interoperability (LOI 5) by enabling the manned aircraft to exercise full control of the UAS, including its take-off and landing.

Airbus Helicopters programme manager Mark Henning said: “Manned-unmanned teaming multiplies the capabilities of both systems.

“Smaller UAS with vertical take-off and landing capabilities can, for example, fly around obstacles as trees or buildings closer than a helicopter could.

“They are able to explore unknown territory and deliver information to the helicopter crew, which is operating from a safe position and which can then step in with the helicopter’s superior effects, having received a clear picture from the UAS.”

Airbus Helicopters and Schiebel intend to use the results of the MUM-T flight tests to optimise the human-machine interface based on detailed analysis of crew workload.