14 DAY TRIAL // Officials with the Northrop Grumman Corporation have announced recently that the US Navy has deposited a new order for five additional unmanned helicopters of the MQ-8C Fire Scout family. The new order brings the total of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) commissioned for the Navy to 19.
The Fire Scout can be used for a wide variety of civilian and military applications. With the US Navy, the unmanned helicopter will be used for reconnaissance, surveillance, and data gathering, allowing ship commanders to extend their view far beyond the horizon. These drones can take off from multiple types of locations and can land even in very severe weather.
The newly-commissioned vehicles will be built and tested at a Northrop facility called the Unmanned Systems Center in Moss Point, Missouri. The MQ-8C is destined to replace the MQ-8B currently in use by numerous customers and to provide more payload capacity, enhanced endurance, and more range for mission operators across the United States.
“Land-based flight tests of the system are progressing well and we're working with the Navy to conduct our first ship-based flights this summer. We expect the MQ-8C Fire Scout will be ready for operations by year end,” explains the Vice President of medium range tactical systems at Northrop Grumman, George Vardoulakis.