DefenceTalkThe U.S. Navy, with support from Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC), commenced flight testing of the MQ-8C Fire Scout equipped with the Leonardo AN/ZPY-8 radar. “The AN/ZPY-8 radar significantly increases Fire Scout’s detection and tracking of targets. The ability to simultaneously employ multiple modes supports U.S. Navy intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance requirements,” said Melissa Packwood, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/northrop-supports-government-flight-testing-of-the-mq-8c-fire-scout-radar-75499/

DefenceTalkLeonardo-Finmeccanica’s Osprey AESA radar has been picked to serve as look-out on-board the US Navy’s newly-upgraded unmanned helicopter, the MQ-8C Fire Scout. The helicopter will be launched from the decks of US naval combat vessels to keep watch for distant threats. The contract will see Leonardo delivering an initial batch of 5 radars to the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-navy-selects-osprey-aesa-radar-for-mq-8c-fire-scout-68424/

DefenceTalkThe MQ-8C Fire Scout completed a three week operational assessment period Nov. 20 at Naval Base Ventura County at Point Mugu, California. The OA included 11 flights totaling 83.4 flight hours where Fire Scout was tested against maritime and surveyed land targets to assess system performance, endurance and reliability of the unmanned helicopter. “MQ-8C is […]https://www.defencetalk.com/mq-8c-fire-scout-completes-operational-assessment-65946/

DefenceTalkNorthrop Grumman and the U.S. Navy successfully demonstrated endurance capabilities with the MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter. On a planned 10+ hour flight and range out to 150 nautical miles flight from Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, the MQ-8C Fire Scout achieved 11 hours with over an hour of fuel in reserve. The long […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-navy-demonstrates-endurance-on-the-mq-8c-fire-scout-65168/

DefenceTalkNorthrop Grumman will build five additional U.S. Navy MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopters, which allow ship commanders to extend their intelligence-gathering capabilities far beyond the horizon. Final assembly of the aircraft will take place at the company’s Unmanned Systems Center in Moss Point, Miss. The MQ-8C is based on a larger helicopter airframe that provides […]https://www.defencetalk.com/northrop-to-build-five-more-mq-8c-fire-scouts-for-the-us-navy-59265/

DefenceTalkNorthrop Grumman and the U.S. Navy successfully flew the second MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter for the first time. Conducted at Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, Calif., the flight will allow the team to ramp up testing efforts to prepare the system for operations. Current tests are focused on validating the flight capabilities of […]https://www.defencetalk.com/mq-8c-fire-scout-completes-first-flight-50712/

DefenceTalkNorthrop Grumman Corporation has delivered the second MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter to the U.S. Navy after completing final assembly at the company’s unmanned systems center in Moss Point, Miss. The aircraft is joining the first one delivered to Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, Calif., to conduct flight testing before using the system for […]https://www.defencetalk.com/northrop-delivers-additional-mq-8c-fire-scout-to-the-us-navy-49757/

DefenceTalkThe Navy’s newest variant of the Fire Scout unmanned helicopter completed its first day of flying Oct. 31 at Naval Base Ventura County at Point Mugu. At 12:05 p.m. PDT the MQ-8C Fire Scout took off and flew for seven minutes in restricted airspace to validate the autonomous control systems. The second flight that took […]https://www.defencetalk.com/navys-new-fire-scout-unmanned-helicopter-takes-its-first-flight-49550/

DefenceTalkThe U.S. Navy got its first look at the upgraded MQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned system when Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) delivered its first MQ-8C system this month. Northrop Grumman is the Navy’s prime contractor for the MQ-8 Fire Scout program of record. The company delivered the first MQ-8C aircraft to the Navy in early July […]https://www.defencetalk.com/first-upgraded-mq-8c-fire-scout-delivered-to-us-navy-48544/