The Navy has begun deploying a new maritime surveillance radar on the MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned helicopter, according to Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR).
The milestone with the Telephonics Corp. AN/ZPY-4 radar occurred in June aboard the USS Coronado, a Littoral Combat Ship (LCS-4), which left Naval Base San Diego in late June for a mission in the Western Pacific. The radar, which can simultaneously track up to 150 targets, is designed to expand the area a ship’s combat team can search for surface vessels.
During the deployment, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron Two Three (HSC-23) will operate both Fire Scout and the MH-60S Seahawk manned helicopter, NAVAIR said. The deployment is designed to better integrate the two aviation platforms with each other. In addition, Fire Scout will support the Navy’s Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise this summer while deployed aboard LCS-4.Northrop Grumman [NOC] builds Fire Scout.