MQ-8C Fire Scout UAS nears shipboard testing
Northrop Grumman is gearing up to commence shipboard testing of the MQ-8C Fire Scout UAS, with precision sloped landing tests now complete at US Naval Base Ventura County.
The MQ-8C's first ship-based series of flights are planned for later in 2014, when it will conduct takeoff and landing tests on the deck of a US Navy vessel at-sea.
The MQ-8C is Northrop Grumman’s latest variant of its Fire Scout UAS, which is designed to perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions for the US Navy.
The MQ-8C is utilising the same sloped landing platform for autonomous system for takeoff and landings as the current MQ-8B model.
Patrick Smith, Fire Scout program manager at Naval Air Systems Command, said: ‘The sloped takeoff and landing tests are designed to be as real as it gets to actually operating on a navy ship. The autonomous MQ-8C Fire Scout system is able to precisely track and understand the roll and pitch of the surface which resembles at-sea conditions.’
George Vardoulakis, vice president for medium range tactical systems, Northrop Grumman, added: ‘The MQ-8C Fire Scout system is performing as predicted and as previously demonstrated during Fire-X testing back in 2011. These tests enable a validation of our autonomous system and clear the way for dynamic interface testing onboard the ship.’
The MQ-8C Fire Scout is in the midst of a comprehensive testing programme which most recently included electromagnetic testing, which assured compatibility with ship-based emitters (like radar); and an initial phase of dynamic interface testing, which looked at deck handling and communications networks. Since its first flight October 2013, the UAS has flown 219 flights and 287 hours.
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