New Fire Scout Takes First Flight 

Photo courtesy Alan Radecki/Northrop Grumman

By Ashley Addington



Yesterday, the newest version of the Fire Scout took its first flight at Naval Base Ventura County in California at Point Mugu. 



The Northrop Grumman MQ-8C Fire Scout completed two successful flights during the day. The first one was a seven-minute flight in restricted airspace.



The goal was to check the autonomous controls. The second flight happened later in the afternoon. The plane flew in a pattern around the airfield, and the system reached 500 feet of altitude. 



The upgrade of the MQ-8C has increased endurance, range and greater payload capabilities than the previous version of the system, the MQ-8B. 



“It is a big accomplishment for the integrated government and industry team to fly this air vehicle for the first time,” says Capt. Patrick Smith, Fire Scout program manager at Patuxent River, Md. “MQ-8C will require fewer aircraft [than the MQ-8B] to operate at maximum performance and will meet the

U.S. Africa and Special Operation Commands urgent needs requirement.” 



The MQ-8C will begin to undergo testing on Guided Missile Destroyers (DDG) class ships. The program is aiming to also support Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) missions.  



Early deployment of the systems could start as early as 2014 with the initial operating dates set at 2016.