MQ-8C Fire Scout Delivered to Navy
The MQ-8C Fire Scout at Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu. Photo: Northrop Grumman Corp.
Northrop Grumman Corp. delivered the first MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter to the U.S. Navy for improved intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.
Upgraded from the MQ-8B Fire Scout, the 8C has a larger airframe, twice the endurance and three times the payload capacity.
The new Fire Scout will undergo shipboard flight tests this winter so the Navy can assess the operational value of the system, according to a company press release.
“The test program will run through the summer as we expect these aircraft to be ready for operations by year’s end,” says George Vardoulakis, vice president for medium-range systems at Northrop Grumman.
The company is currently under contract to build 19 of the 70 MQ-8C Fire Scouts the Navy is expected to purchase.
