Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

Industry has big hopes for Fire Scout UAV

"The “flexibility” of the Northrop Grumman-built Fire Scout unmanned helicopter could see its mission sets expanded in the future from surface warfare, antisubmarine warfare and mine warfare to include special operations, humanitarian relief and other missions, an industry official said he hopes.

The MQ-8B Fire Scout vertical-takeoff-and-landing unmanned aerial vehicle is being designed to perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for the Navy’s new Littoral Combat Ships’ three mission modules, designed for surface warfare, antisubmarine warfare and mine warfare. The drone can spend up to five hours on station at a range of 110 nautical miles with a 600-pound lift capacity. The system conducted its first flight in December 2006 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. The Fire Scout is more than 9 feet tall, weighs more than 3,000 pounds and can travel at speeds greater than 125 knots."

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Posted by Darren at August 14, 2007 10:48 PM | More from UAV News |