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Navy/USMC

MQ-8C Fire Scout Reaches IOC

Monday, July 8th, 2019

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MQ-8C Fire Scout Reaches IOC

An MH-60S Seahawk helicopter assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 14 prepares to land on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) in the Arabian Sea, March 20, 2019. (Photo: U.S. Navy)

The Navy declared initial operational capability (IOC) for the MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter on June 28, the service said on Monday. The Fire Scout is built by Northrop Grumman [NOC] using the Bell [TXT] 407 airframe and is built at the Bell Mirabel, Quebec plant with final assembly and kitting conducted in the U.S. The MQ-8C is a larger and longer-endurance variant of the MQ-8B vehicle that can operate up to 12 hours on station depending on payload. The…

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