AUVSI - Navy Fire Scout readied for initial maritime operational deployment

6th February 2009 - 09:35 GMT | by Scott Gourley in Washington, DC

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The US Navy will soon conduct the first maritime operational deployment with an MQ-8B Fire Scout UAS, according to Commander Kevin "Q" Quarderer, an "Innovation Officer" within the Commander's Action Group at U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM).

Speaking to the Association of Unmanned Vehicles Systems International (AUVSI) Program Review 2009, Quarderer explained, "This Fire Scout deployment kind of gets [SOUTHCOM] back toward one of our main areas of focus: counter-drug [operations]."

"We are an ‘asset strapped' COCOM [combatant command]," he said. "So anywhere that we can buy a little bit ‘more bang for the buck' or I can add one more

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Scott Gourley

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Scott Gourley

Scott Gourley is a US-based writer on defence and security issues. A former US Army …

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